Stalker is a vast, confusing and highly uncompromising picture - one that has earned it as many detractors as it has fans. Directed by Russian master Andrei Tarkovsky, the plot inherent to Stalker is a complex one, but is - in basic terms - as follows: in an apocalyptic future, a man working as a "Stalker" is hired by three others to take them into "the zone," a strange, enigmatic place where unrealised desires are supposedly granted. The movie depicts their long and arduous odyssey into the terrain named as such, and features long and unbroken sequences as the men talk philosophies and ethics, whilst slowly succumbing to the bizarre circumstances surrounding "the zone." This is the sort of movie that you could sit around for hours talking about, especially given the nature of its curious ending. Don't let the runtime or the subtitles put you off; it's fantastic.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
