Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky, Russia / USSR, 1979, Russian with English subtitles, 161 min
Cast: Aleksandr Kaidanovsky, Anatoly Solonitsyn, Nikolai Grinko

The most celebrated adaptation of the Strugatskys Brothers, Tarkovsky’s take on their 1972 novel Roadside Picnic transforms the authors’ narrative of alien visitation into a metaphysical journey into the human soul. Recounting an expedition led by a “Stalker” (Aleksandr Kaidanovsky) into the hazardous wasteland of “the Zone” in search of a room that will grant one’s deepest desires, Tarkovsky’s masterpiece is both visceral and conceptual, rightly feted for its languorous cinematography and philosophical depth. A film described by Geoff Dyer as “synonymous with cinema’s claims to high art,” it draws much of its power from the Strugatskys capacity to use genre as a vehicle for unnerving psychological probing.

This screening is part of the programme After Utopia: The Strugatsky Brothers on Film. 

The Garden Cinema, 39-41 Parker St, London,  WC2B 5PQ