Color Juxtaposition (Industrialization vs. Nature)

In Stalker, we see that humanity and industrialization is depicted in a bleak, black and white palette. This highlights the emptiness of materialism, which becomes reinforced when we see the scenes with nature, which have a natural and colored palette. The beauty of color symbolizes the gracefulness of the soul, the eternal, whereas the temporal nature of industrialization in its decrepit state symbolizes the ephemeral and the transient.

Stalker is the tragedy of the individual who, through the lens of the pragmatic meta-narrative, wants beyond anything else, to believe. It is about wanting to make oneself and those around them believe. This is why Stalker goes to the Zone, but despite his efforts, achieves no fortune in this pursuit of faith. Just as no one needs Stalker, so too, does no one need The Zone. The film is about the triumph of the material.

Olga Surkova, Chronicles of Tarkovsky (rough translation)