If you're a fan of Tarkovsky's Stalker (or just Tarkovsky's work in general), then I'd highly suggest looking into the work of filmmaker Konstantin Lopushansky.

There isn't much I can say about Tarkovsky that hasn't already been said more eloquently by others. He is often one of the more highly-acclaimed and widely-discussed on most movie discussion sites I've frequented (and for good reason!). That being said, I'm surprised that I rarely ever see anybody discuss the conceptually-similar work of his fellow Russian filmmaker/film theorist Konstantin Lopushansky.

Lopushansky is obviously a lesser-known name compared to Tarkovsky, but you can certainly still draw a number of parallels between their film careers. As one of the more glaring examples, Lopushansky actually began his film career as a production assistant for Stalker, so he has even worked directly with Tarkovsky on the film itself, before he broke into directing his own during the '80s. And while Tarkovsky's influence is very apparent throughout his work, I find that his oft-contemplative filmography can still easily stand on its own merit.

His first three films in particular (as well as his 2006 adaptation of The Ugly Swans) are each very thought-provoking and introspective in their own right. Each of them are set in their own post-apocalyptic and/or dystopian worlds, featuring their respective characters and their individual journeys into their own broken-down and/or malformed societies, complete with underlying discussions on various philosophical and religious themes.

Personally, I feel that Lopushansky's films are very much on the same level what I've seen by Tarkovsky, at least in terms of how contemplative and thought-provoking they can be. While I do also love Tarkovsky's work and am not taking anything away from it, I still think it's a shame that Lopushansky's films aren't nearly as well-known, despite all being relatively acclaimed. So if you enjoy Tarkovsky, and are looking for more examples of introspective and thought-provoking science fiction, then I'd definitely suggest checking out Konstantin Lopushansky's films.

And by the way, his first three films are all free on youtube with English subtitles for those that are interested:

Dead Man's Letters (1986)

A Visitor to a Museum (1989)

Russian Symphony (1994)

Submitted March 25, 2020 at 11:41AM by HeyJennyMay https://ift.tt/2Uekybs