A classic

I already saw this movie not so long ago but since it was so challenging, I thought I might as well check it out again, especially since I bought a really cool Tarkovsky Blu-Ray box-set. Obviously, since I’m such a major movie buff, I had to watch a movie directed by Andrei Tarkovsky at some point, especially since the guy has such a stellar reputation. Well, according to IMDb, it is his best movie, so I guess it was a good place to start. However, to be honest, even though I expected it, it still turned out to be a really difficult movie. I mean, basically, it is about three guys wandering for almost 3 hours in a place called the ‘Zone’ and, even though it does sound like a science-fiction feature, there was nothing really futuristic about this place. Of course, the fans of this movie in particular and in Tarkovsky in general would argue that this movie went just way beyond being a simple SF feature and they would be right. However, I’m afraid I was not smart enough to understand most of the symbolism, philosophical and metaphysical elements developed in this flick and I still think that the damned thing was pretty damned long and slow. Still, even if it was minimalistic, it was very often beautiful to look at and the damned thing was quite mesmerizing. Indeed, in spite of the lack of plot or character development, the whole thing is such an interesting maelstrom of ideas, theories and assumptions. Anyway, to conclude, it was probably one of the most difficult movies I have ever seen and even if I probably didn’t get half of it, I still think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you want to see something really challenging.