3 ms·

My thesis is that people have troubles connecting with Stalker because they are accustomed to movies being a very voyeuristic and pornographic experience, with

My thesis is that people have troubles connecting with Stalker because they are accustomed to movies being a very voyeuristic and pornographic experience, with in-your-face exposition at every corner and the producers making sure there is nothing ambiguous happening ever. Stalker is not made for you to be a spectator. It's filmed as if you're getting on the journey of the characters. A lot of time they rant alone, they're speaking to you. They asks questions and nobody answers, because that was addressed to you. People either "get into" that movie and it's one of their favorite ever, or they don't and it's extremely boring, which is normal. I think it should be approached with that in mind, that you have to actively take part in the story to appreciate it.

UncleOxidant 6y ago
Well said. When I recommend Stalker to someone I tell them to make sure they don't have anything else to do. Hide your phone. Prepare yourself as if you are preparing to meditate. Slow way down, notice how the scenes make you feel. They're the antithesis of American films where something is blowing up or crashing every minute or so. In some sense you have to detox from American cinema in order to appreciate a Tarkovsky film. The problem isn't Tarkovsky, it's our frenetic pace. Tarkovsky's sense of time is much different than ours.
- krrrh 6y ago
  His appreciation of painting and goal to make film as valid of an artistic medium as painting really exposes this. It also takes most of us a significant investment of time and perspective to engage with a painting as an object of contemplation rather than condensing it down to set of symbols and moving on to the next image in rapid succession.
- andrei_says_ 6y ago
  When I recommend, it is for the long train car ride in silence during which the film imperceptibly switches from black and white to color. And, for the long shot looking down at the stream... The rest is a bonus on top of these experiences. ;)
hardwaregeek 6y ago
I understand what you're getting at with the quite different, immersive style of Stalker. I don't necessarily agree that the lack of connection is necessarily due to people being accustomed to "voyeuristic and pornographic [experiences]". Sure, there's plenty of movies like that and many who would dislike Tarkovsky are devotees of that style. But one can be a lover of subtle, beautiful cinema and still find Tarkovsky boring. I can easily sit through Nashville or Beau Travail or La Cienaga and still find Tarkovsky boring. Indeed, attributing dislike of Tarkovsky to being unsophisticated in one's taste is precisely what I was critiquing in my previous comment. Tarkovsky is not the arbiter of one's film taste.
- Pelic4n 6y ago
  It's really not about sophistication, it's about approaching these movies from the wrong angle. I'm pretty plebeian in my taste myself!

UncleOxidant 6y ago

Well said. When I recommend Stalker to someone I tell them to make sure they don't have anything else to do. Hide your phone. Prepare yourself as if you are preparing to meditate. Slow way down, notice how the scenes make you feel. They're the antithesis of American films where something is blowing up or crashing every minute or so. In some sense you have to detox from American cinema in order to appreciate a Tarkovsky film. The problem isn't Tarkovsky, it's our frenetic pace. Tarkovsky's sense of time is much different than ours.

krrrh 6y ago
His appreciation of painting and goal to make film as valid of an artistic medium as painting really exposes this. It also takes most of us a significant investment of time and perspective to engage with a painting as an object of contemplation rather than condensing it down to set of symbols and moving on to the next image in rapid succession.
andrei_says_ 6y ago
When I recommend, it is for the long train car ride in silence during which the film imperceptibly switches from black and white to color. And, for the long shot looking down at the stream... The rest is a bonus on top of these experiences. ;)

hardwaregeek 6y ago

I understand what you're getting at with the quite different, immersive style of Stalker. I don't necessarily agree that the lack of connection is necessarily due to people being accustomed to "voyeuristic and pornographic [experiences]". Sure, there's plenty of movies like that and many who would dislike Tarkovsky are devotees of that style. But one can be a lover of subtle, beautiful cinema and still find Tarkovsky boring. I can easily sit through Nashville or Beau Travail or La Cienaga and still find Tarkovsky boring. Indeed, attributing dislike of Tarkovsky to being unsophisticated in one's taste is precisely what I was critiquing in my previous comment. Tarkovsky is not the arbiter of one's film taste.

Pelic4n 6y ago
It's really not about sophistication, it's about approaching these movies from the wrong angle. I'm pretty plebeian in my taste myself!