Sunday, October 21, 2007

Stalker

Staying in tune with post modernist/ structuralist thoughts earlier, I found a movie that quite fits the occasion. I have seen a lot of movies, some meaningless, some interesting, boring, shocking, etc., but this one is very special and definitely in my top 5 list. I am talking about Tarkovsky's Stalker.

Plot in a couple of words (though there is much more...): Near a gray and unnamed Russian city is the Zone, an alien place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers. Over his wife's numerous objections, a man rises in the Tead of night: he's a stalker, one of a handful who have the mental gifts (and who risk imprisonment) to lead people into the Zone to the Room, a place where one's secret hopes come true. That night, he takes two people into the Zone: a popular writer who is burned out, cynical, and questioning his genius; and a quiet scientist more concerned about his knapsack than the journey.

The Room is a place that means different things to the people who journey there, and the stark, ravished landscape they must journey through consists of the phobias and anxieties that they can hardly bear to face. The expedition the men experience is a long and often maddening one, and there are many scenes where the camera lingers on a beautifully composed shot so that the viewer can take time to understand how the characters fit into the settings and how those settings form both natural and supernatural obstacles.

Dont mind the long opening scene, as a true gem is about to be seen

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