Stalker (1979)
What is your innermost wish?
Presentation:
Tarkovsky never fails to impress me with how consistently he is able to make me fall asleep watching his films. It’s not that it’s boring, there is just always a hypnotic quality to the silent cadence and foreign dialogue that lulls me into a trance. I believe I fell asleep 3 times watching this film as a result. That being said, the film is deep but only if you have the patience to watch until the end. Similar to Solaris, Tarkovsky presents a philosophical question about humanity through a sci-fi setting and gently nudges audiences to answer it. He never shoves the solution at you or even entertains the idea that he knows it, rather suggesting it in an open ended way. The question in Stalker is less impactful and far-reaching than Solaris, which I think is a better film in every capacity. The technical aspects of this film are far behind western cinema with incohesive and confusing cuts that make you wonder what special effect the film is trying to convey. This is because the film was re-shot after the celluloid was rendered unusable, truly heartbreaking. As a result the visuals could feel compromised, disjointed and incomplete. It attempts to portray hallucinogenic mirages, but you’ll have to have a wild imagination to comprehend its original intention. But what it doesn’t satisfy visually makes up for in the script.
Story:
Stalkers are essentially guides that bring people through the Zone, which is a dangerous hallucinogenic area with a room that grants anyone that reaches it their innermost desire. The keyword is innermost, so not any wish, which has profound implications as most people don't know their innermost wishes until they realize the room doesn't grant it. Which is likely the reason why Porcupine the previous stalker hangs himself, because he realized he cannot bring his brother to life after entering the room, because his innermost wish values money over the life of his brother. The child at the end appears to have telekinesis, but this is unreliable as the entire building shakes due to a passing train at the same time. Whichever you believe reflects your personal faith.
Analysis:
The main theme of this film is hope. This faith could be a religious metaphor indicated by the biblical journey with the stalker akin to a false prophet and a crown of thorns toward the end, but I don’t think this is necessarily the case. The emphasis moreso focuses on human determination and what we believe in. There are a few pieces of dialogue that can unravel the primary intention of the story. The room is in many ways salvation, the ultimate reward to our seemingly meaningless lives. This claim is substantiated by the fact that we have a skeptic writer and professor, academic professions that are notoriously atheistic and nihilistic. At one point, the professor attempts to destroy the room, which symbolizes hope for stalkers and travelers. The academics believe this power will ultimately result in crime, social strife, military violence and destructive science, not trusting in the selfish nature of humanity. This is also the atheist argument against religion, though religious war is not explicitly mentioned.
On the other hand, the wife provides the other side of the argument in her final monologue, arguing that a grey life is not worth living, and the room and Zone allow humans the decency to believe that any impossible wish can come true. In the process of fighting and realization of what the room gives, the trio realizes more about themselves and humanity. Even the stalker acts out of self interest. The writer requires dissatisfaction with his life in order to write. And the professor finds that his motivations are more petty than his supposed mission to protect humanity and gives up possibly because destroying the room doesn’t change human nature. They ultimately don’t enter the room, gaining wisdom instead, which is perhaps even more valuable than what they originally bargained for let alone deserve. The epiphany is dark and not exactly uplifting, but one can view it this way if you interpret living a true life with what you are given to be better than being gifted divine rewards. Because what is life without the hunger?
Conclusion:
Unlike films like Annihilation, this question has a substantial theme about hope and faith that brings everything together. There are some hard hitting ideas toward the end that have the potential to awaken your world view. It’s quite a brilliant vehicle to deliver dense philosophical ideas on the meaning of life and why we live. This film undoubtedly has greatness, but shorter attention spans should struggle to keep up with the plot until it actually matters. But if you have the patience, your mind might experience the same journey shared by these travelers. A fascinating glimpse into our motivations and purpose.
Recommendations
Is it better to suffer injustice than do it?