Danger! High-radiation arthouse!
 

Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker has been on my 'to get' list for quite sometime, and I'm sure some of you must have seen this. I just thought I'd mention it as I noticed this lengthy article on The Guardian web-site, and thought (maybe) some here would be interested.

Strange that you mention it, because I've been wanting to watch it too and two weeks ago I borrowed it from the library and finally got around to see it. I must say that I was disappointed. It has a great style or form, but the actual story was quite boring right up until the last 20 min. of the film.
The continuous use of metaphors throughout the film becomes repetitive instead of enlightening, because the metaphors are simple (Like the one on the picture in the article referring to the crucifiction of Jesus). The film is about spirituality, the struggle between the common man and the intellectual class and about disintegration of both society and the human mind (And a lot of other themes).

I don't know. I guess I just didn't "get it". I really want to see Solaris (Solyaris) by Tarkovsky though.

What story? It doesn't *have* a story. It's all atmosphere, symbols, personalities, themes. IMO it's one of those films that are almost completely pointless to discuss; you have to experience it, and see if it clicks for you or not.

I loved Stalker, but thought Solaris was a tedious slog of pretentious rubbish.

It's been too long since I've seen Stalker for me to feel comfortable having an opinion anymore. I remember appreciating it but I think even then I realized that it would be different the next time I watched it and different after. I enjoyed Solaris a lot too. It's been on my mind lately, this theme of replication or reproduction. How people have a tendency to recreate their familiar environments or familiar triggers even in unknown places or especially. I think there's potential here, in science fiction, to discuss this and other related themes in the terms of colonization and colonialism as it's historically happened here on earth. The only other Tarkovski I've seen was Andrei Rublev which was devastating for me at the time.