Hasta la vista, Tarkovsky: Cinematic dreams

As a child, I held a record of sorts. By 12, I had seen Terminator 2: Judgement Day, 40 times. Every day when I left for school, I would tell my mother, “Hasta la vista, baby!” Other sci-fi films followed. Robocop, The Matrix, Alien, Jurrasic Park, 2001: A Space Odyssey, all of them providing one big adrenaline rush. So at about 1am, one fine night, I decided to watch Andrei Tarkovsky’s sci-fi film Stalker.

he premise seemed interesting. A meteorite had crashed on earth, creating a zone, an area which could fulfill a visitor’s innermost desires but was extremely dangerous.

Maybe that meteorite had left behind strange powers, I thought. Maybe a team of superheroes would be created. Or perhaps there were aliens. I wondered if a ‘Soviet’ alien would look any different from the one in ET.

I played the film, expecting the screen to explode with guns and bombs. Nothing could be further from the truth. The film was in sepia tone, and a man was having an argument with his wife. This went on for 15 minutes. I presumed, now that he (identified as Stalker) was ready, he would tie a bandana around his forehead, strap a few bombs, and fire his way into the Zone.

But in the next scene, he was in conversation with two men he was taking to the Zone. One was called Writer and the other, Professor. Another ten minutes passed, all of which was just one take, where they discussed the importance of writing and science in society.

When the characters reached the Zone, Stalker told them that they needed to reach an area in the Zone, called the Room. Stalker put pebbles in a rag and flung it, and either Writer or Professor had to lead the way till that point. In one instance, a scared Writer took out a gun from his coat. My interest suddenly piqued. But Stalker made him discard it. In fact, Stalker looked straight at the screen, and nudged the gun into water. Tarkovsky was snubbing the likes of me.

Eventually, the characters reached the Room, which resembled a train station’s washroom. Writer and Professor wanted to destroy it, so that it did not fall into evil hands, but Stalker wanted no such thing. They eventually decided against it and went back to the bar.
I looked at the watch. It was nearing 4am. A total of 240 minutes of a science-fiction film and nothing happened. What was the point of the film?

I dreamt of Tarkovsky that night. He had a huge frame and wore a big moustache. He told me that Stalker was Joseph Stalin and the Zone was communism. The next morning, I think I finally got it. Writer and Professor represent the intellectuals in society, who are required to reach communism. The Zone itself is communism which can make people’s wishes come true. And all along there will be a Stalin who will stand beside the intellectuals till he tries to misuse the Zone.

When my mother asked me to mouth a one-liner from the film, I couldn’t think of any. It was just not that kind of a film.