Up until this point, there is only one film that I've ever seen that I could label as an "abstract film". That film is none other than Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. It means so many different things to so many different people, and that's where its appeal lies. I can now add Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker to that short list. Unfettered by exposition or backstory, Stalker is a film that relies only on what you see and hear for the two and a half hours it is playing. When it is over, it leaves you to decide what it means.
The story revolves around an enigmatic "Zone" that the government is keeping everyone from visiting, for fear they'll reach an infamous room fabled to grant your deepest wish. The path to the room is arduous and often deadly, and on top of that, its traps change on a random basis. Enter our main character, one of the guides, called stalkers, designated to lead people through the deadly terrain. On this particular day he is taking a writer and a scientist to the room to have their wishes granted, and we learn more about them as they go along.
Tarkovsky may very well be Kubrick's Russian counterpart as far as visual style goes. Every shot is maticulously planned and set up. Nothing appears in a shot that isn't supposed to be there, and everything that is has a purpose to it. As per his style, the pacing of the plot moves along at a hum drum speed, most shots lasting for entire minutes, making you feel like the story is taking place in realtime. It's not something for the riddalin children of the world, but if you are patient enough to sit through it, it pays off.
The thing I enjoyed most about this film was how introspective and interpretive it is. It is never explained exactly what the Zone is or why it's being cut off from the populace. It is widely suggested that it is serving as an allegory for religion in an athiest state (as the situation was in the Soviet Union), but it could easily serve as a metaphor for scores of any other things. The idea of the writer, the scientist, and the guide, all passionately devoted to their fields, are brought to this one place all to have their wishes fulfilled makes you think. And their dialogue provides you with more than enough mental food to chew on.
Stalker is one of those films that isn't going to appeal to everyone, but will mean a great deal to the ones it connects with. It is my first venture into Russian cinema, and I am impressed by what I have seen by it. The film will entertain you not with flashy explosions and visual effects or even snappy dialogue and "hilarious" antics. It will entertain you because it will make you think. And a film that makes you think is always worth watching in my book.