Based on the novel "Roadside Picnic" by Boris and
Arkady Strugatsky, Tarkovsky takes the basic premise of the source material
while discarding many of the science-fiction elements to create a film that is
packed with ideas, haunting in its imagery, and hard to define.
A short text scroll at the beginning explains the premise.
Some unknown event has led to a Zone being cordoned off from the public. Now
guarded by the military, this Zone, is a no-go area and what happened there and
what is present there is largely a mystery, save to a few brave individuals
known as Stalkers who enter the Zone for personal profit.
We are introduced to a man (Aleksandr Kaidanovsky) living in a
run-down apartment with his wife and young daughter. This man is a Stalker and
is soon hired as a guide by two other men, known only as "Writer" (Anatoli Solonitsyn) and "Professor" (Nikolai
Grinko), who wish to enter the Zone. The writer is out of ideas for
stories and hopes to find inspiration. The professor ostensibly wants to research
what is happening in the Zone. When they enter the Stalker tells them about the
dangers of the Zone and that they must move slowly, or the Zone might kill
them. The Stalker's own daughter is suffering an unknown condition due to her
father's connection with the Zone, and there are definite hints that there may
be something like a radiation or nuclear threat in the Zone. He tells his two
companions that there is a place in the Zone that is said to grant any wish.
The plot of the film is stripped down to its essentials. It
is three men on a quest to find a mysterious room that grants their wish. There
is something almost mythological about their journey. What we get in place of
plot twists is a highly philosophical film about the nature of mankind. The
question posed early on in the film is "What is it that people are searching
for?" or "What is the motivation to live"? Whether this is the
thrill of scientific investigation, the desire to create work, or a monetary
incentive in the case of the Stalker, everybody is forced at some point to
consider why they are here, or what they are for. To look at this in a more
pessimistic light, one might wonder if there is any point to our endeavours in
a world that seems indifferent, is there any light at the end of the tunnel?
This is the question that pervades the film and it is one that we are forced to
confront as the men trudge on towards their destination. Later in the film
another quandary is raised. When the men finally reach the room that is said to
grant their desires, they hesitate. They have come up against the problem that
has troubled many. If you were given everything you wanted, would you accept
it. There are certainly biblical overtones, hinted at by early recitation of
scripture. What is in the room, indeed the nature of the Zone, is never fully
explained, but it is a placeholder for a divine being, an omnipotence, or
ultimate, that is finally within their reach. This leads to the men discussing
a belief in such a thing, and what that means in terms of how they live their
lives. What it means to search for such a thing, and what it means to reject it
in favour of struggling on without such hope.
Director Andrei Tarkovsky has a fantastic flair for visuals
and framing. There are some haunting sequences, such as a long walk along a
curving corridor which slowly builds dread. The pace is very slow at times and
though we never see any dangers, we sense that they are stepping into a highly
dangerous environment. This could be construed as them confronting their own
desires, and their own thoughts. The film also shifts from both two-tone,
brownish hues, to full colour when they are in the Zone. As with much else, the
significance of this is left up to the viewer. It leads one to speculate that
perhaps the Zone, containing as it does the hope of a better life, is a more
vibrant place, than the dull outside world, a world of military and machines
and poverty.
There are a number of interpretations for what is happening
to them in the Zone. A blend of theological and psychological discussion that
is potent because of its uncertainty. In many ways the audience are allowed to
project their own thoughts or fears about the meaning or purpose of life into
the events. The Zone is whatever you believe it to be.
I would highly recommend this film as a classic of
science-fiction. It is not for everyone and the pace and length may be
off-putting to some, but if you can survive it, you will come out of the other
side with a deeper understanding of what it is to be human.
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