Stalking the Sublime: Two Fine Works of Cinematic Art

…the shared dreamings of Andrei Tarkovsky and David Lynch transcend consciousness and run deeper than the screen

In my 2012 history of art textbook, Evolution of Western Art, I wanted to represent cinema as an artistic medium just as valid as any other approach to exhibiting fine art. The only two entries that made it past the editors were short pieces on the films Stalker and Blue Velvet…

Interestingly, for films so different from each other, they do share some characteristics. Though both films can be approached from a variety of critical and conceptual angles. They utilise enough ‘dream logic’ to qualify as works of Surrealism, particularly the latter. Both are accepted as being auteur pieces — productions created by the particular vision of their respective writer-director.

Tarkovsky’s ‘Stalker’

Andrei Tarkovsky is one of very few ‘auteur’ directors whose artistic vision — and the realisation of that vision — rivals the greatest literary figures, painters, and composers. When you watch a Tarkovsky film, you know that every visual element has been considered and controlled, from the beautiful cinematography to the smallest gesture of the actors. At times, it seems that even the elemental…