Roadside Picnic is both a high-speed psychedelic narrative exploration, and a "trailer" for the book of the same name it's based on (by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky).
I was a big fan of all the adaptations of the novel (Tarkovsky's film Stalker, plus the Stalker videogames, partly). But it was only last year that I got to read the original novel, and liked it more than any of the adaptations. I made this hoping to arouse people's curiosity for the book, as it's both a classic and a very interesting lens through which to look at people's current struggles against alienation.
I was a big fan of all the adaptations of the novel (Tarkovsky's film Stalker, plus the Stalker videogames, partly). But it was only last year that I got to read the original novel, and liked it more than any of the adaptations. I made this hoping to arouse people's curiosity for the book, as it's both a classic and a very interesting lens through which to look at people's current struggles against alienation.
Synopsis:
An alien visit to earth goes unseen by anybody, but it leaves behind some "trash". These leftovers, which contaminate large areas with strange effects, hold great power and become precious for humans. Redrick Schuhart is part of a group of scavengers called Stalkers, who venture into these areas to fetch the coveted artifacts for money in the black market. It is said one such artifact, a large sphere lodged deep into the Zone, can grant people's wishes...
Sound and music by the great Francisco Furtado
Enjoy!
