Golgotha at the entrance of the zone

[kingfisher]

I've just watched disc one of the Artificial Eye edition of Stalker, and pretty much exactly 37 (3 sevens) minutes in, the colour scheme turns from sepia to full colour and the entrance of the zone looks like Golgotha replete with crucifixes.

Any thoughts? Or am I merely reading too much into. Please bear in mind that I don't spend all my time looking for connections in films, but this one struck me.

[blue]

With "crucifixes" you mean the telegraph-poles? An interesting thought. And if we would draw the analogy further the journey through the Zone could be seen as a metaphorical Via Dolorosa maybe. But that wouldn't make sense since what would the Room then represent? The resurrection and the heavenly reward after all earthly struggle and the Last Judgment?

I think that the change to colour at the entrance is to indicate the otherness of the Zone. And A. T. always put a lot of effort in the use of different colours. For the scene with the arrival to the Zone the vegetation at the place had actually been made greener with green paint. In contrast with the preceding sepia sequences it gives a very luxuriant impression.

Enjoy the rest of the film and please, don't hesitate to share your further impressions.

[kingfisher]

Thanks for your comments Blue. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe that Tarkovsky would have been that deliberate, particularly with the clock time. But it is an interesting connexion. The three sevens reference (777) is an interesting parallel too, as in Gematria 777 enumerates into the flaming sword that blocks the way back to Eden and the Tree of Knowledge.

I don't think the significance of the three telegraph poles (looking very much lke crucifixes) would have been lost on Tarkovsky either.

Anyway, I am just preparing myself for a journey to spend Christmas with my family, and I've bought my younger brother a copy of Stalker. No doubt I will have watched it again by the time I get back.

Peace