Our recent reviews of films based on works by the Strugatsky Brothers – read the others here and here – come to an end with this adaptation by themselves and Soviet art-house favorite Tarkovsky. This was the only adaptation that they openly approved of and, while it has its own merits, it says volumes about the brother’s cultural conservatism and elitism that saw them dismiss any tampering with their work unless it was by a media darling like Tarkovsky. The film is essentially plotless and therefore instantly likable, foregoing the ludicrous scientific investigation of the source material in favour of a wandering, pseudo-religious quest that has more in common with a mediaeval folk tale than hard science fiction.
Whilst the film shamelessly avoids any social or political issues, it would be an otherwise perfect creation technically if it didn’t fall flat on one essential principle of cinema: there’s too much talk. The film is so obsessed with its constant stream of pretentious babble – all the characters talk interminably about pointless things that are so obviously loaded with ‘meaning’ – that its beauty and quiet are lost along the way. Its a great shame that Tarkovsky was such a snobbish egotist (he manages to sandwich his name into the opening credits no less than four times) and it would be a worthwhile experience to watch Stalker with the volume muted so that his dialogue didn’t ruin the experience.
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[...] Also as with Es ist nicht…, the Strugatsky Brothers were unhappy with this adaptation and there is a more recent computer game based on the same material. Much more conventional than the film, it perhaps hints at the same conservatism and cultural boorishness that saw the Strugatskys unhappy with any film version of their work except the pretentious Stalker (1979; dir. Andrei Tarkovsky) – which we’ve reviewed here. [...]