I love Andrei Tarkovsky, especially Stalker, Andrei Rublev, and Solaris. I've heard from many Tarkovsky fans that this is their favorite film of his, but I just can't quite get into it. Part of me loves it - I love the images, the atmosphere, and it's dream like nature. It's ok, in my opinion, if you don't always understand Tarkovsky. As he wrote in his book on filmmaking, he uses metaphors, not strict symbolism (meaning that nothing in his movies necessarily has one concrete interpretation) . There should be a strong emotional connection with the film, even if you don't specifically understand its meaning. I always come back wanting to love this film, and I always enjoy the first 30 minutes or so, but it eventually just loses me. Maybe there's just simply not enough of a narrative to pull me all the way through the film. I stop feeling that emotional engagement I get from his other films.

Do you feel the same? For those that enjoy this movie, what might I be missing?