Stalker

"Deep watch. Gotta finish it later before I give thoughts. "

"Passing on this title time and time again with my preconceived notions given the name, I finally watched the trailer and instantly decided to dive in after seeing a few of the stunning visuals. The film is beautiful and slow and not at all about what you might think: the psychological journey of three men toward a mythical destination. While the storyline and heavy dialogue in Stalker probably won't attract a lot of new members to its fan base, the deeper message within it is to be heard and the film itself is due it's recognition and praise. A modern remake could potentially be gold."

"I tried to watch this a couple of times and I just couldn’t get into it. Then I gave it another shot (in a dark room with no phone) and I had a transformative experience. I almost felt like my biorhythms slowed to be in synch with the film and I disappeared into the film in a way that I rarely have, before or since. The plot is very sparse. A guide (the titular Stalker) clandestinely leads two clients (a professor and a writer) through a swampy, shape-shifting wilderness that has been deemed off limits by the government. In the middle of this wilderness there is supposed be a room that grants all who enter their greatest desire. The film is only tangentially a sci-fi film. The characters spend a lot more time debating the nature of knowledge, inspiration and religion than they do dodging danger in “the zone”. Though themes and ideas abound, I don’t have a clear interpretation of any of them but I somehow think that might be the point. Stalker will bore most people but if you give into it completely, it is quite the experience. 5 out of 5 stars"

"Holy s**t! This movie is the Holy Grail of MindF**ks (in a good way). The film did a great job of making the viewer feel lost in the pursuit like the 3 protagonists did. The cinematography was superb, some of the best use of long takes I've ever seen. Also, the attention to detail was heavy in this movie too. I also liked how it touched on certain themes like skepticism, greed, and faith, amongst others as well. The acting was on point and I don't know why they were never nominated for an Oscar. This isn't for your casual moviegoer, but for those who appreciate cinema, this one is guaranteed to creep up on your all time favorites lists!"

"This movie is a work of art and will not leave my mind. It's a very slow boil of movie but every shot has a weight of meaning "

"One of the greatest movies of all time. I don't even fully agree with Tarkovsky's message, and yet I still love his movie and how he presents his argument, if you will. It's truly that good. "

"Loved it"

"Would love to hear some takes, but not sure why I was enthralled with this so much more than Solaris. I was simply amazed by Stalker, where Solaris was almost, dare I say, a poor film in my subjective opinion. Maybe I’d enjoy Solaris on a rewatch, but such a divide between the two is intriguing."

"#contemplative"

"Way more boring and better than that game"