[Eric]

I thought that Stalker was a depressing movie first of all because of the doom-laden atmosphere, then because it showed the propensity of mankind to destroy (i.e. the country through the door, with a bomb). And thirdly, the very physical and visual aspects of the whole run down Orwellian life of the common man.

A much more optimistic film was The Mirror (Zerkalo) which showed some of the truly life-enhancing aspects of Russia (as it should be!).

But if you really want a depressing Tarkovsky film, his last one is so true to present-day reality. Bergman's early films, filmed on the island of Gotland, were often very depressing or morbid (e.g. Shame). Tarkovsky used the island for the setting of his last film Deliverance. This film shows people in a house, when a nuclear war has started. They are in the middle. But the truly horrifying part of this psychological intimate theatre drama is when you hear the rush of the missiles flying over Gotland, presumably between Russia and America. Given where the world is today, it sends shudders down your spine.

The light is crucial in this film. It is a muddy colour throughout the film. But at the very end, the light clears, becomes normal. This is a kind of happy ending. I hope this happens too in our present, all too real crisis.