Page - 38 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 06/01

James Lorenz The End of Desire? Love and the Soteriological Significance of Desire, Hope, and Belief in Andrei Tarkovsky’s STALKER (USSR 1979) Abstract This article explores the soteriological significance of desire in Сталкер (Stalker, Andrei Tarkovsky, USSR 1979). At the heart of the film, deep within a paranormal and psychoso- matic frontier called the Zone, is a space which signifies the end of all desire: the Room, a preternatural place of mystical power which is said to grant one’s innermost wishes. The Zone and the Room become soteriological motifs. Tarkovsky’s characters travel there motivated by a yearning for healing, a hope for salvation. This article explores this sote- riological journey through the interplay of desire, hope, and belief, for this triad is the key conceptual scheme at work in the film. From analysis of this film that focuses on this framework, several theological and soteriological concepts emerge which can be fruitfully explored. Above all, by focusing on the significance of this triad, a crucial aspect of Tark- ovsky’s religious thought comes to light: his understanding of the relationship between desire and love. Keywords Andrei Tarkovsky, Soteriology, Desire, Trinity, Christology, Stalker Biography James Lorenz is a PhD Candidate at the University of Oxford in the Faculty of Theology and Religion. His research is situated broadly in the field of modern systematic theology, with a particular focus on religion and the arts, specifically cinema. His doctoral thesis explores the theological concepts that emerge from the films and philosophy of Andrei Tarkovsky. Deep within Сталкер (Stalker, Andrei Tarkovsky, USSR 1979) is a space which signi- fies the end of all desire in the film. In a timeless future within some nameless coun- try is the Zone, a liminal space between memory and imagination where a meteor strike has created a paranormal and psychosomatic frontier where phantasmagoria can be fatal. In the very heart of the Zone is the Room, a space of preternatural and mystical power that is said to grant one’s innermost wishes. Tarkovsky specifically DOI: 10.25364/05.06:2020.1.3 The End of Desire? | 37www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/1, 37–52