Stalker

Yesterday, I embarked on a journey to space with Andrei Tarkovsky. Today we didn’t leave Earth, but it was still an almost three-hour ride. Well, a ride... Again, there was a great deal of philosophizing, and long, long shots in which nothing at all happened, and on which Agnieszka Holland probably based her film I, Olga Hepnarova. There was a lot of wandering through the countryside, throwing nuts and, gradually, the feeling of being robbed of three hours of my life was coming over me again. As far as Mr. Tarkovsky is concerned, I’m not going to make the same mistake for the third time. I guess I’m just not mentally mature enough for his films. (05/01/2021)

This is a paradox. Stalker is now a cinematic concept that everyone watches in a dogged attempt to understand its message and to fit each abstract shot into an imaginary mental puzzle. However, the more we know and think about the film, the more confused we get and end up knowing nothing; and to be honest, it’s better that way. You should keep your brain active, because you won't see so much cinematic beauty, visual art and extremely dense atmosphere anywhere else, but it's really better to let yourself be absorbed and sucked into the Zone than to try to shape and twist it to your will. For me personally, one of the weirdest, most interesting and most moving cinematic experiences ever. And yes, I want to watch it again, several times... (14/02/2014)

This is exactly one of those movies that I will have to see again in order to appreciate it. Tarkovsky uses an interesting form which immediately impresses you - I mean the color scheme, which has two different forms. But it is a demanding work that requires your attention, it requires you to think. However, it is definitely worth watching. (19/03/2015)

Better is bitter happiness than a boring life. A powerful philosophical work with many metaphors that screams at the viewer throughout its two and a half hour runtime: "Either you will attentively watch me the entire time and get everything, or you will try to watch me as an ordinary disposable product and get nothing." The sea of Tarkovsky's thoughts, supported by minimalist and mystical music and wonderfully detailed camera work, brought me an unprecedented viewer experience and one of the most intellectually stimulating films of my life. (29/03/2007)