There is a inevitable end to all things, whether it be Stalker, a film blog, life itself.
Tarkovsky and I, well, I don't know where to start. I don't specifically remember when but I watched Solaris, which I did rewatch in the last 5 or so years, and I guess I did not review. This led me to Stalker, which probably leapt up to the rank of favorite, and eventually I ended up watching everything except I think The Steamroller and the Violin.
Stalker is a bizarre, sci-fi infused philosophy film that really masters that hypnotic feeling which Tarkovsky was the ultimate master of. I spoiled it to my girlfriend while we watched, and I'll spoil it here sort of - nothing really HAPPENS in the movie, and yet there is the deepest feel of dread, of enraptured wonder, of freedom and of homesickness, of doubt and of bizarre reality in the film.
We start with the main character the Stalker waking up at home. His home is depicted as is the entire sequence in a bizarre sepia tone which seems to accentuate every scuff and dirty patch on the filthy walls and floor. Eventually its revealed he is going to be leading two men, the Writer and the Professor, into the Zone. There's almost an action sequence as they get into the Zone, and from there the film evolves into a high esoteric, atmospheric tonal piece with drowning thoughts about philosophy, human nature, and the concept of life.
It's odd because one would really want to use the word "quiet" to describe Tarkovsky so much, but his movies are anything but. They are practically wall to wall dialogue, with dreams and philosophy and poetry flooding out the characters mouths. Yet, the themes and the visual language is so minimal and so stayed that the word quiet would be used to describe THOSE and be correct.
There is imagery in here that has always stayed with me. The sand dune sequence, the owl, the train car, the water.... I was thinking while I watched this that this film is water, maybe Nostalghia is land, The Sacrifice is fire... I wonder if this could be applied to more of this films. Relating them to an element.
The film is an absolute masterpiece, one of those that make the argument between the concept of "film" versus "movies" or "flicks". This is a reminder that true, emotional, ambiguous art CAN exist in film. It's for sure 5 stars.
I really don't know if the blog is over or not. I feel like it is this time. I haven't been watching very much honestly, and even in the dead of winter, just not feeling like writing. Movies are really interesting in that they illicit and inspire a thought process, at least the good ones do, and I appreciate that about them exponentially, but really, I feel like I am pretty much "over it".
I want to reread a lot of my posts as I find the process of seeing these interesting. Maybe one day I'll do some sort of retrospective. Until then, I hope that you the reader enjoy these odd 10 years of my life where I decided to write about what I watched and include some asides about my own life and ideas. If nothing else, I did create the blog to contain those personal moments. Maybe, one day, I'll return.
Theo
