"When a man is born, he is soft and flexible. When he dies, he is strong and hard. When a tree grows, it is soft and flexible. But when it's dry and hard, it dies. Hardness and strength are death's companions. Flexibility and softness are the embodiment of life. That which has become hard shall not triumph."
sun bleached flies-ethel cain / october-jackson.c frank / stalker 1979 / the ballad of costa concordia-car seat headrest / nowhere 1997 / possession 1981 / Frank Bidart / georgia lee-tom waits / interview with the vampire amc
Watching Stalker (1979) today is such a surreal experience. The absolutely breathtaking cinematography and thought provoking philosophy are viciously contrasted with some of the worst OSHA violations you'll ever see on film.
Anytime they're wading through contaminated, toxic and stagnant water you're just instantly reminded about the fact that the vast majority of the crew suffered completely preventable deaths less than 10 years later, and you're watching them essentially doom themselves to horrible cancerous fates live on tape.
The dude playing the insecure snarky writer literally died of lung cancer 3 years after they wrapped filming, likely because they were just walking around in toxic sludge for half the film, and the other half inhaling undiluted chemical plant smog straight into their lungs.
Like this shit doesn't look kosher at all and he's fucking just lying in it, completely drenched. Not to mention the VERY visibly crumbling asbestos construction in the background and all throughout the entire film probably didn't do them any favors either.
Or this scene literally just before the scene above. Where all 3 protagonists take turns to walk through this room flooded with foamy contaminated water with chemicals clearly floating on top.
AFTER just spending 10 minutes walking through a sewer tunnel with even more water dripping down on them from above and stalactites growing from the inlets.
Been taking a continuing studies class for fun at Emily Carr, and was tasked with drawing a Tarot Card!
Here’s The Hermit from the Major Arcana
Obviously represented through The Stalker from 🕸 Сталкер (Roadside Picnic) 🌿
“May everything come true. May they believe. And may they laugh at their passions. For what they call passion is not really the energy of the soul, but merely friction between the soul and the outside world. But, above all, may they believe in themselves and become as helpless as children. For softness is great and strength is worthless. When a man is born, he is soft and pliable. When he dies, he is strong and hard. When a tree grows, it is soft and pliable. But when it's dry and hard, it dies. Hardness and strength are death's companions. Flexibility and softness are the embodiment of life. That which has become hard shall not triumph.”
Puss In Boots: The Last Wish and Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker were literally the same film. A trio travelling trough a hellish wasteland hoping to gain a wish, and end up confronting their own unhappiness and mortality instead? I am going to lose sleep over this.
I don't have anything to say on the actual body of work that 1,000 pseudo-intellectuals haven't been parroting for 40 years. All I have are some thoughts and feelings.
Prior to seeing this film I had a passing familiarity because of my hyperfocuses into the Suicide Club / Cacophony Society, which was a loosely formed group of individuals who went on excursions together called "Zone Trips" and one of these trips resulted in the birth of the Burning Man Festival, and of course the connection to Fight Club and the world of culture jamming. And I had seen this CinemaTyler video on the making of the film as well.
With that out of the way all I can really say is... wow. What a desolation, what a sadness this film expresses. Not only with its forlorn characters but also with the landscape. The burned out buildings, pipes filled with frozen chemical slime, the mold and fungus and water that covers everything in The Zone.
Nothing is well in The Zone, every structure is in the process of decaying, especially the characters. This isn't nihilism like you might see from a more modern director, this is depression. This is an expression of depression, the way it feels when you are 1,000 feet underwater in a year long depressive episode. Everything feels sour and wrong and there is constant war inside.
The three men are a group with mismatched ideals and moral structures. Their group's internal struggle reminds me of intrusive thoughts, self doubt, and anxiety. The bickering, the philosophical ranting, the hopelessness as they wander the apocalyptic reality of their world just solidifies this for me.
I mean... I fucking loved this. It's long and meditative, and it is beautifully shot. I'm gonna watch this one a few more times for sure.