About the Film
“Stalker”, together with “Mirror” and “Solaris”, has perhaps become something of a holy grail for film enthusiasts and cinephiles worldwide, manifesting Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky’s reputation as one of the most discussed and universally liked artists (and don’t you even dare criticize him) of the medium. Considering the almost universal outbreak of joy when Criterion announced a newly restored version of the film in 2017 along with a limited theatrical re-release, the admiration for the craft of this man will not cease but rather increase, given the universal nature of his art as well.
Synopsis
The stalker (Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy) lives with his family at the border of an area only known as the Zone, making a sparse living by giving people tours into the forbidden areas to a place called The Room, a legendary location where the innermost desires of a person would be fulfilled. Even though his wife (Alisa Freyndlikh) begs him not to continue his dangerous job, fearing he might be arrested again by the guards or worse, her husband still meets with his new customers, a writer (Anatoliy Solonisyn) and a professor (Nikolay Grinko), each one with their own motive to venture into the Zone.
As they make their way past the heavily guarded train tracks into the Zone, tensions rise between the three men with the stalker trying his best to ensure their safety while explaining the wonders of the place and the other two nearly constantly quarreling over their opinions on science, arts and the purpose of the a place like the Zone.
