Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker: Do you think you should really be driving? or How I learned to stop worrying and love driving with my top off.

After leaving the bar the three men head to the jeep which seems to be off to the right. We don’t know because we don’t get to see them from outside the bar. You’ll notice that both Writer and Stalker trip through the puddle of water. It’s funny how they all seem to head for the passenger door. Come on now, someone has to drive! After giving the jeep the once over, Stalker manages to squeeze himself through the driver side door which isn’t easy since Professor seems to have parked it about a foot from the side of the building. They then drive toward the camera and take a left. I like how it looks when they drive between the shrubbery and the camera very quickly. It reminds me of scenes in Kurosawa’s Rashomon when the woodcutter is running through the forest. They then continue straight all the way to the end of the road, almost disappearing into the fog. Stalker stops the jeep, stands up, looks around, and then continues. We don't know which way because then the scene cuts away and now the jeep is heading towards us through an opening and then passes by us and comes to a screeching stop. Stalker tells everyone to get down. Writer and Professor duck down into their seats while Stalker actually exits the jeep and lies down flat on the ground. Interesting. In the distance, we can just make out a motorcycle tire and then the camera switches to a motorcycle officer’s view with the jeep now in the distance. It’s strange though because the motorcycle is facing the opposite way from how he just drove into the last scene. But this guy gives no indication of seeing the jeep at all. He just drives off. Stalker backs up and then turns left through an opening in another building and goes straight. So far he just keeps turning left. Now we cut to a camera view positioned inside another building’s entrance. We still can hear the jeep sound from the last scene as Stalker pulls up from the left side of the screen, stops in front of our viewpoint, and frantically shoos Writer out of the jeep and into the building telling him to see if the coast is clear and then to  meet up at the other entrance. Stalker drives away and now a train engine pulling a flatcar of giant insulators passes by the entrance too; seemingly right on Stalkers heels. Writer heads out an entrance at the right of the building as Stalker turns right from where he just was to pick up Writer. Now by all rights that train should be driving by where Stalker just turned but it doesn’t. It’s gone. It’s only been about two seconds since we saw it. Where did it go? What the hell is going on in this crazy town!?

Tomorrow's Post: Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker:  Do you think you should really be driving? or How I learned to stop worrying and love driving with my top off. Part 2