Perhaps more of a philosophical film, the film, often called science fiction, follows a stalker who leads an accomplished writer and a down-and-out scientist into the mysterious and dangerous "the Zone". Look for "the Room" that fulfills people's deepest desires. The film was adapted from the Strugatsky brothers' novel "Roadside Picnic", and the 1957 nuclear disaster at a factory near Chelyabinsk in the Soviet Union also became a source of inspiration for the director.
Although the plot is not complicated, the film is not easy to read due to Laota's very individual video narrative style and the philosophical thinking that the film wants to express. Maybe with certain life experience and thinking, we can better understand the film itself. All along, Lao Pagoda's films have been repeatedly dismantled by everyone, trying to interpret the hidden symbolic meanings from different video clips and objects. However, as Tarkovsky mentioned in his book "Sculpting Time", don't try to use reason and logic to understand the meaning of every shot and every object, try to feel like a child with the intuition of life.
If you think of this Zone as the human subconscious, then the room may be the deepest secret in the subconscious, so deep that you may not realize it, or you may not want to face the real desire. Writers and scientists represent different people. They have different thinking patterns, are in different situations, and have different perceptions of Zone. Stalkers take them step by step to go deep into their subconscious and explore the most hidden corners of their hearts. . Imagine what it would be like if we were these explorers, when we gradually discovered our hidden and most real faces, whether we would accept it, be hard to let go, be unable to face it, or find the courage to examine ourselves.
Tarkovsky wrote in "Sculpting Time", "The Stalker may seem cowardly, but in essence is sheer tenacity, because he has faith and a will to serve others". "Her (Stalker's wife) love and loyalty is the ultimate miracle against the lack of belief, cynicism and moral vacuum that poisons the modern world, and writers and scientists are the victims of that." "The writer reflects a life full of Depression in a world of every need, or a writer who goes to the exclusion zone in order to face the unknown, to tremble with fear, but in the end it is only the love and devotion of a woman, and the power of her human dignity.” "I am often asked what the forbidden area is, what it symbolizes, and make blind guesses... However, the forbidden area does not symbolize anything, and it does not symbolize anything more than anything in my films. The forbidden area is the forbidden area, it is life, someone tries to When crossing, it may succeed or fail." These words may help us better understand the film and the old tower himself.
There are several monologues and narrations in the film that I like very much, even shocking. Excerpted below:
"How fragile and soft a man is when he is born. How stiff and numb when he is dying. How lush and graceful a tree is when it grows strong, but When it becomes dry and stiff, it struggles to the death. Stiffness and struggle are the companions of death, grace and tenderness are the embodiment of fresh life. You know, the stiffness of life is irresistible."
"When a person writes a book because he is tormented and doubtful, he has to prove his worth to himself and others all the time. If I believe that I am a genius, then why should I write a book."
"You would say that no one needs all this for no reason. No, I don't think so, after all, everything has its own meaning, meaning, and reason for being."
And finally, the monologue of the stalker's wife facing the camera, this section may also be the director's voice.
"A life of joy is better than a life of gloom... I never regret it, we have suffered a lot of grief, fear and humiliation, but I never regret it. This is our destiny, ours Life. Without these misfortunes, it may not be a good thing, but even more miserable. Even so, we have never had happiness and hope."
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