The Zone in “Stalker” is a territory where something unknown fell, and where nature has already digested the remains of human infrastructure. They first looked for such a location in Central Asia, but after the earthquake near Isfara in January 1977 the plan had to be changed on the fly. In April, the cinematographer Georgy Rerberg found what was needed 25 kilometers from Tallinn: an abandoned hydroelectric plant on the Jägala River, blown up by the retreating Red Army in 1941. Downstream stood a second one, also destroyed.
The landscape was barely touched; they added decommissioned military hardware and rails for the camera dolly. The characters ride along them on the draisine. The first summer of shooting went to waste: the film stock turned out to be ruined, and everything was reshot from scratch.
