"The Stalker"

There is an excellent contrast between the film's complex color/tonal scheme. The first such transition is from the drab monochrome and black & white of the city to the introduction of color in the Zone. The journey to The Zone is made by way of a stolen flatcar that along a train track. This visual transition from b/w to color is further underscored aurally by the mesmeric soundtrack during the flatcar journey (clanking of the steel wheels on the tracks, and an oscillating electronic pitch) which places us in a somnolent state that makes the change that much sharper to the full sensorial system. The cut from the Writer in the bar (in b/w) to the color shot of the Stalker's daughter Monkey in color, is even more striking than the initial transition to color when they enter the Zone. Her gold head scarf stands out dramatically, as it should, since the shift to color now assumes important thematic significance -the power, magic, 'color' of the Zone- now emerges in the drab cityscape. It is only the daughter who 'lives' in color in these post-Zone city scenes, rendering her a specific magical quotient in the film's philosophical system. So while the scenes between the whimpering, self-loathing Stalker and his wife are in b/w, the final 'telekinetic' scene with the table top glasses, passing train, and daughter is in full color.