Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker: "Let's get metaphysical....metaphysical."

At this point the movie transitions to Part 2.  This is because all the footage they shot so far was shot on a bad batch of film which was not caught until developing.  So with half the money spent Tarkovsky came up with the idea of two parts so he could receive more money to continue the film.  I think this little transition shows part of the original film and you can see this in the difference in quality from what we've watched so far.  At this point we see Stalker just inside of a building looking out and motioning Writer and Professor to join him.  Apparently Writer and Professor are taking some kind of a nap and Writer complains that they have to get up again and it seems like Stalker will be preaching to them again.  Notice the bag next to Writer and also the nut tied to a cloth hanging in the entranceway behind Writer and Professor.  Just as Writer turns to get up you hear a big splash and the scene cuts to a shot looking straight down into what looks like the surface of water in some kind of well.   This first reminds me of the surface of the moon if it was constantly moving and changing.  What I like about this scene is that the water is so textured and always in motion that it's almost hypnotic.  It looks incredible.  We now hear a voice over by Stalker, "Let everything that's been planned come true. Let them believe. And let them have a laugh at their passions. Because what they call passion actually is not some emotional energy, but just the friction between their souls and the outside world. And most important, let them believe in themselves. Let them be helpless like children, because weakness is a great thing, and strength is nothing. When a man is just born, he is weak and flexible, when he dies, he is hard and insensitive. When a tree is growing, it's tender and pliant, but when it's dry and hard, it dies. Hardness and strength are death's companions. Pliancy and weakness are expressions of the freshness of being. Because what has hardened will never win."   Almost all the lines spoken here can be found in the documentary A Poet in the Cinema in response to the interviewers questions.  Most of the dialogue in Tarkovsky's movies are built around his own philosophies and ideas.

Next Post: Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker:  "Let's get metaphysical....metaphysical." Part 2