Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker The Trolley Car Ride, or You're not in Kansas any more.

Just before Stalker, Professor, and Writer get on the trolley there is one more burst of machine gun fire. Stalker tells the others that if anyone gets hit, don't shout or rush about. If they see you, they'll kill you. He tells them to just crawl back to the outpost and  they'll get picked up in the morning. This seems like a contradiction. They will kill you now but in the morning no one will try to kill you. Ok, Stalker fires up the trolley and they are on their way. This next scene is a great meditative sequence. The last words spoken are by Writer, who wants to know if the guards can catch up to them, then Stalker, who says they fear it like the plague. And finally Writer again, who asks, "Fears what?" Which, of course, goes unanswered. There is no more dialog until they reach the Zone. Instead, the camera lingers on each character for a little bit before moving to the next character and then back again. In the background we see all the scenery  that they are driving through but most of it is hidden in a fog. As we see each character we wonder what they're thinking. Only Stalker has been here before. What must be going   through the minds of the other two? What would you be thinking? This scene is around four minutes and you have to appreciate the fact that this gives us an idea of how far it is to the Zone. It also provides a calm after the storm, a peaceful respite to the frantic jeep ride. As with everything in this movie listen to the sounds. The sound of the trolley on the tracks, as well as a few scattered train whistles, begins to distort more and more as they approach the Zone eventually becoming unrecognizable. It's an awesome effect. Remember to be listening to the original mono track while watching the movie.

Tomorrow's Post: Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker They don't Return Here