Learning from films: Stalker
The new Geoff Dyer book Zona: A Book About a Film About a Journey to a Room, is a light take on a heavy film -- Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker. In a notable passage, Dyer talks about the time span in our life that we're receptive to forming our personal favorite works of art. The time in our late teens and twenties when certain films, books, and music become our lifelong favorites. For me, some of these films were Brazil, Blade Runner, and Blue Velvet. At a certain point, this openness may not come naturally anymore. Those of you who are over 40 know what I'm talking about. I want to stay open to that feeling.
I've been following author and free-jazz aficionado Jeff Jackson's Destination Out for a long time, and I'm also connected to him on Goodreads where he gave Zona a favorable review. I really enjoyed Dyer's photography book, The Ongoing Moment, so I picked up a copy of Zona, and rented Tarkovsky's Stalker.
If we're lucky, every once in a while we encounter a work of art that changes our perception of how deeply art can affect us. Something truly exceptional. Stalker is a mind-blowing film. If you're interested in the strange time warps and dream states that can be encountered in night photography, Stalker is an amazing journey. I've never seen a film that captures the state of hyper-awareness of exploring abandoned places so well. The intense attention to every little sound and texture. And the location in Stalker takes on a life of its own.
So do you remember the time period in your life when you were most receptive to artistic input? When a 2 1/2 hour subtitled movie was something to look forward to? If you're open to that feeling, watch Stalker and let me know what you think.
Stalker is on DVD at Netflix but not available streaming. The DVD is $16-24 at Amazon, or perhaps you're lucky enough to have a good local video rental store.
If you're not familiar with the film at all, I encourage you not to look up Stalker online. Don't look at YouTube or IMDB. Just track down the DVD and set aside the time to watch. If you enjoy the film, Dyer's book is a lot of fun. If enough people who live in the San Francisco Bay Area are interested in discussing the film and the book, I will schedule a meetup at a bar in April to compare notes. Until then, enjoy your trip to the Zone.