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Media Culture
Cause and direction of time in A. Tarkovsky's film "Stalker" (1979)
Dr. Roman Salny,
Rostov State University of Economics, 344002, Rostov-on-Don, B. Sadovaya, 69, roman_tag82@mail. ru
Abstract. The article analyzes A. Tarkovsky's artistic and philosophic ideas of time. It provides a survey of some researchers' views on his apprehension of film creation. The study concludes that the direction of time in the film Stalker depends on"spiritual" changes of the Writer who is seeking deep within himself an answer to the question: "And what do Iwant?" Thecauseoftimeishisboundary condition revealing itself in the moments of his detached self-scrutiny. These moments are marked compositionally and rhythmically by time interruptions in the film. The most noticeable and sustained slackening of rhythm occurs in the middle of the film. Here one can feel a detached deep insight into the human nature and the world at large, purity and transparency of the visible (empirical) and invisible (metaphysical) reality.In the Zone, the Writer unintentionally joins in creating live time and rhythm, where in places of their highest resonance one can overcome time and enter its aerial dimension.The Writer is, probably, the only one among A. Tarkovsky' characters who lacks faith for making sacrifice.
Keywords: A. Tarkovsky, Stalker, time, parable, metaphysical reality, boundary, detachment, will.
Introduction
A.Tarkovsky was convinced that cinematography is not based on the synthesis of dramatic elements of literature, theatre, music and painting, but relies on time laws providing a direct observation of "ever-changing material world" on the screen. He used to criticize the film makers, who considered rapid-cut editingto be one of the major principles of film chronotope, pointing out that film montage creates artificial time. Apparently, A.Tarkovsky believed that various forms of art reflect different aspects of world changes in time and cinema, and in this respect, has its unique possibilities.
A.Tarkovsky wrote in his book Sculpting in Time(1989): "When scholars and critics study time as it appears in literature, music or painting, they speak of the methods of recording it.. ..They will study the forms used in art to fix time, whereas I am interested here in the inner, moral qualities essentially inherent in time itself."[Tarkovsky, 1989, p.58].
A.Tarkovsky chose a philosophical parable to reveal spiritual and moral qualities in time that is, in S.A. Tougoushi's opinion, an artistic form used by film directors during the second half of the 20th century for "manifestation" of the "stream of consciousness". They "attempted to show how the film characters instantly or gradually come to understand themselves and their destiny" with the help of a parable [Tougoushi, 2014, p.19]. Yet, A.Tarkovsky was not interested only in the moment of "self-comprehension" but mainly rather difficult and in-depth spiritual changes in a person. He tried to show what happens beyond the "stream of consciousness" andreconstruct the spiritual inner struggle of the character with himself.
Materials and Methods
The research material is A. Tarkovsky's film Stalker(1979). The philosophical and art criticism analyses of the film are based on the notion of the world dualism (visible/invisible, empirical/metaphysical) and eternal-temporal, absolute-relative dialectics. Thus, A. Tarkovsky'sapproach to ontological properties of the film image and his understanding of reasons for the film protagonist's internal changes was conceptualized.
Discussion
A parable contains a two-level world outlook. On the one hand, it traditionally describes really possible events, but on the other hand, it presents them allegorically. The Writer in Stalker exists in the empirical reality, but his internal necessity draws him into the metaphysical world of the Zone.
A. Tarkovsky showed the condition of the Writer who undergoes spiritual transformation. Probably, the location of reasons for these changes is simultaneously inside and outside him. The Zone responds to the Writer's actions with a certain metaphysical, unreal image - he suffers weird changes. After the Zone warns the Writer, he confesses to his weakness, vices and lack of talent.
I.I. Evlampiev presumes that A. Tarkovsky as well as F.M. Dostoyevsky was of the opinion that "a person exists in his earthly life simultaneously in two dimensions - temporal and eternal" [Evlampiev, 2012, p.146]. Yet, for Andrei Arsenyevich this is not the eternity that carries the memory of some human achievements but the eternity happening at a particular time and opening the riddles of the universe.
According to G.P. Pogrebnyak, "by joining the real and unreal worlds Tarkovsky aspired to blur the distinction between personal and public..., the sublime and the earthly" [Pogrebnyak, 2014, p. 115]. Probably, it would be more correct to conclude that he endeavored to make this boundary between the real (empirical, visible) and the unreal (metaphysical, invisible) worlds more tangible. The awareness of this boundary in Stalker enables the viewer to feel the time of the Writer's movements of the soul reacting to secret signals of the Zone.
A.Tarkovsky's feeling of depth and subtlety of boundaries touching different spheres of reality influenced his reflections on the essence of the film image and creation. As he wrote in his book Sculpting in Time, "for usually a person's words, inner state and physical action develop on different planes. And only by knowing exactly what is going on and why, simultaneously, on each of these planes, can we achieve that unique, truthful force of fact"[Tarkovsky, 2002, p.178].
The means recreating time in A.Tarkovsky's films such as sounds, music, characters' actions, composition and space alterations do not play an independent crucial role. Sound and music, for example, neither prevail in the frame nor illustrate the event. Characters' actions and camera motion do not illustrate the event either. The reason for this is that the action on the screen takes place between the visible and invisible reality and one can only point to it but not represent. As G.G. Shpet wrote: "the beauty ... begins when there is great promise in it: a breakthrough in infinite meanings" [Shpet, 2007, p.77].
A.Tarkovsky preferred to argue about infinity in a more abstract, transcendental meaning. When answering the question - "how does time become tangible in the frame?", he wrote: "It becomes tangible when you sense something significant, truthful, going on beyond the events on the screen; when you realize, quite consciously, that what you see in the frame is not limited to its visual depiction, but is a pointer to something stretching out beyond the frame and to infinity" [Tarkovsky, 1989, p.117].
Infinity stands for a permanent movement upwards since horizontal motion is equal to standing still. The Writer in Stalker is shown as if existing between the past and the future. Behind him there is a devastating fuss, an empty struggle to prove himself that he "is worth
something"; ahead of him there is hopeless fading in his private mansion with a bottle as a companion. For his lifetime to fill with bright and real experiences he needs to move only upwards.
By putting the Writer into the boundary condition A.Tarkovsky forces him to move towards the unknown that can bring hope. This movement determines the time direction which is one of its "additional intrinsic properties" [Reichenbach, 1985, p.294].
The time direction in A.Tarkovsky's films is perceived in the Writer's actions and changes, thus making the metaphysical world move towards him. The metaphysical world calls to itself but does not act without the Writer's will. His will, in a sense, consists in his abandonment of his empirical self, possessing property, knowledge, status, etc.
According to aresearcherwho analyzed A.Tarkovsky' sartistic legacy, "it is only possible to touch something unknown, the noumenal genesis origin, when that world itself moves towards this world" [Gromowa, 2013, p.17]. Yet, for this countermotion to begin, it is not enough for the Writer to feel the existence of "that" world but he should be ready for the "touch", be able to overcome and reject himself.
The cause of time in Stalkerappears somewhere in secret depths of the Writer's soul, visible and invisible reality, and reveals itself in mystical links felt intuitionally and emotionally. In the film, the cause of time is in the "between" space - between the past and the future, between the empirical and the metaphysical, and, above all, - between the Writer's will and the will of "that" metaphysical world.
The "between" space in Stalkerhas places of most intensive manifestation which A.Tarkovsky called "the pressure of the time". The distinctive time, as he wrote, "running through the shots makes the rhythm of the picture; and rhythm is determined not by the length of the edited pieces, but by the pressure of the time that runs through them" [Tarkovsky, 1989, p. 117]. The composition rhythm of the film is based on the increase of the time pressure in certain moments of the film - composition points where the "between" space is especially felt. "It is there, on the boundary ofthe mystical depth and earthly life where an inner human being is bornand ready to erupt like a volcano" [Perelstein, 2014, p.188].
D.A. Salynsky considered that "the aesthetic film material" for A.Tarkovsky "was pulsation of invisible authenticity-inauthenticity waves, pulsation of approaching the absolute reality and moving away from it" [Salynsky, 2011, p.174]. One can notice that the metaphysical reality in Stalker makes itself evidentin parallel with the Writer's motion towards his own boundary of his false and true "self'.It is impossible for the Writer to keep standing on the border, and by overcominghimself, he makes a step towards his true Self, i.e. recognizes his own mediocrity.
The Writer's is staggering in the composition points where the Zone warns him, but his actions become lively and genuine; the frame space is shrinking, the music (noises and sounds) is gradually getting louder, sometimes beginning to sound like a hyper-real echo. The tension is growing in the frame, and then turns into the Writer's tranquility, silence and sincerity; as though he sees himself with the "eyes" of the Zone penetrating into the depths of his soul and heart. A.Tarkovsky chose the Writer for this function because of his sensitivity that enables him to hear the "voice" of the Zone, react to its metaphysical signals. "The Writer, unlike the Professor, is moving to the source of his personality and nearly reaches it" [Perelstein, 2014, p.188].
The Professor is a person of a different kind; he is a rationalist, unable to experience such feelings. Closer to the end of the film, the Writer supposes that the Room sees through the manlike X-ray and fulfills one's deepest heart wishes; and the Professor answers: "Then I do not understand anything at all. What is the meaning to come here?" The Stalker plays the role of a linkman who explains to the travelling characters how they should behave in the Zonein order to survive. Probably, he fulfills the function prepared for him from on high, - make his best to help
the desperate find belief and hope again. He himself feels unstinting conviction in the mysterious facilities of the Zone and the Room.
The Writer is going to the Zone because he is disappointed in life, forgot how to love, value and hope. While approaching the mysteries of the Zone and the Room the Writer becomes conscious of his own futility and the deep internal desire to find the answer to the question: "And what do I want?"
Results
The Writer's internal changes play an integral role in the film drama. The Writer looks into his own Self in the episodes when he comes in "touch"with the Zone that stops him from approaching it without the Stalker's "approval". These places in the plot are key composition elements (exposition, introduction, development of the plot, climax, and epilogue) where the intensity of action falls significantly and the time practically stops. They play a crucial role in the rhythmic structure of Stalker.
Exposition: (14th minute) the Writer explains to his interlocutor that there is no miracle or mystery in life, and allinexplicable things are just a phantom. One can feel frustration in his words and haughtiness in his actions.
Introduction: (29th minute) the Writer says that he cannot comprehend what he actually desires. He is sincere in his actions and speech. The rhythm of the film slows down and the "pressure of the time" gets stronger.
The direction of the time in the Writer's motion in search of the truth starts in these two episodes that form the narrative of the film.
Development: (61st and 105th-107th minutes) the Writer attempts to approach the Room himself. TheZone "cautions" him, he undergoes a breakdown, begins to confess to his weakness, lack of talent, and vices. The camera shows his honest eyes full of despair and repentance at the same time in close up. On a compositional level,these moments of spiritual insight are marked by slackening of the rhythm. In the episode (77th-88th minutes) between these attempts the time extremely slows down and nearly stops. Herein (inthemiddleofthefilm (!)), having passed halfway with two other characters, theWriteradmits meaninglessness of human scientific and cultural achievements when talking to the Professor. This conclusion is supported by the Stalker's wife's off-screen voice reading an extract from the Revelation (in the meanwhile, the characters are sleeping): "there was a great earthquake ...and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, the sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.". The camera closely approaches the objects covered with clean water, in slow motion, the music is slowly getting louder and turns into a deep clear echo, thus creating a feeling of peering through the remains of some civilization long gone. The Zone seems to "open" a crystal clear view in answer to the Writer's confession to insignificant achievements of the civilization.
This view, detached from everything material, pierces into the Writer's soul and stops the
time.
The characters wake up (88th -89th minutes). There are no traces of arrogance and disdain on the Writer's face. Helooks unprotected andopen-hearted.The stage of the Writer's spiritual ascension was marked by his evident change and a clear vision opened by the Zone.
Duringthe 93rdminute, thereemergesatunnel. The characters are standing in front of it. The Writer asks: "Shall we go there?" The lot falls on him. The tense flow of the time goes on.
Climax: (126th-128th and 141st minutes) the characters are standing before the Room, the Stalker gives them an instruction: "You do not have to say anything. You only have ... to concentrate and try to remember the whole your life.And, above all... The most important is ... to believe!" The Stalker suggests that the Writer should go first into the Room, but he does not want to recall his past, cannot open his heart and does not believe. The Writer gives the following answer to the Stalker: "I will not go into your Room! I do not want to spill all the trash
that has accumulated inside me, on anybody's head.I'd rather drink myself to death quietly and peacefully in my stinky writer's private residence."
The Writer and the Professor did not enter the Room. During the 141st minute a moment of catharsis occurs. The characters are sitting with their backs to each other. Birds are singing; it starts raining, as if washing away their former inner detachment. One can hear the echo of drops hitting the bottom of the purified soul. Thetimestopsagain.
Epilogue: (151stminute) the Stalker is lying on the floor of his room and says: "And they call themselves intelligentsia. Those writers! Scientists!They do not believe in anything. That their ... organ with which they believe has atrophied!" At that moment, the camera is slowly moving backwards and there are shelves with numerous books in the frame.
Conclusions
The study concludes that the direction of time in the film Stalker depends on "spiritual" changes of the Writer who is seeking deep within himself an answer to the question: "And what do I want?" The cause of time is his boundary condition revealing itself in the moments of his detached self-scrutiny. These moments are marked compositionally and rhythmically by time interruptions in the film.
The most noticeable and sustained slackening of rhythm occurs in the middle of the film. Here one can feel a detached deep insight into the human nature and the world at large, purity and transparency of the visible (empirical) and the invisible (metaphysical) reality.
In the Zone, the Writer un intentionally joins in creating live time and rhythm where in places of their highest resonance one can overcome time and enter its aerial dimension.
A.Tarkovsky' characters are moving towards the ideal, absolute, in the time that is "associated with changes, a transition from the empirical reality into another one"[Rezvykh, 2014, p.57]. By overcoming the empirical reality, sacrificing themselves and their lives, they participate in creating time. The Writer is, probably, the only one among A. Tarkovsky' characters who lacks faith for making such asacrifice.
References
Evlampiev, I.I. (2012). Artistic philosophy of Andrei Tarkovsky. Ufa: ARC, 472 p.
Gromowa, A.E. (2013). Invariance of space structure in A.A. Tarkovsky's film «Mirror» in the context of P.A. Florensky's philosophy. Kostroma humanitarian bulletin. No. 1 (5), pp. 14-19.
Perelstein, R.M. (2014). Reality and play in the cinema of the twentieth century. PhD. dis.Moscow, 296 p. Pogrebnyak, G.P. (2014). Space and time in author's cinematography of Andrei Tarkovsky. Bulletin of the Polotsk State University, pp. 114-118.
Reichenbach, G. (1985). The philosophy of space and time. Moscow: Progress, 344 p.
Rezvykh, T.N. (2014). Posing the problemof time in S.N. Bulgakov: in the context of nature and freedom antinomy. Vestnik PSTGUI: Theology. No. 3 (53), pp. 55-68.
Salynsky, D.A. (2011). Cinema hermeneutics of Tarkovsky. Moscow: Quadriga, 576 p.
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Tarkovsky, A. (1989). Sculpting in time. University of Texas Press, 256 p.
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