Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky | 1979

With Alisa Freyndlikh, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Nikolay Grinko

On the surface this film is a sci-film thriller in which a “stalker” leads two civilians deep into a forbidden zone. But it quickly becomes much more than an allegorical journey as the landscape of industrial decay and nail-biting tension slowly builds toward an existential ending that points to redemption. Tarkovsky’s innovative use of color and tracking shots make this one of his most visually striking films. An inspiration to generations of artists, including David Lynch and writer Geoff Dyer, Stalker is also a personal favorite of Cate Blanchett, who has claimed “every single frame of the film is burned into my retina.”