willpower

His films obsessively examine individuals struggling against systems and their own limitations, from A Clockwork Orange's battle over free will to Barry Lyndon's protagonist fighting fate.

His meditative cinema explores spiritual willpower and the human capacity to endure suffering and maintain conviction against overwhelming existential forces, particularly in Stalker and Solaris.

His visceral films depict characters' desperate struggles between ambition and self-destruction, exploring willpower as both salvation and delusion in works like Black Swan and The Wrestler.