This is an interesting (although not entirely faithful) adaptation of Stanislaw Lem's masterpiece, one of the rare science-fiction works willing to explore a first contact scenario with an advanced alien life-form - not creatures who display familiar, understandable goals and emotions, but a genuinely incomprehensible extraterrestrial entity. See also Lem's novel Fiasco, Arthur C. Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama, Denis Villeneuve's recent, excellent Arrival.
The living ocean of planet Solaris is able to tap into human consciousness to materialize dreams and desires in the form of mysterious beings who visit a Terrestrial outpost; psychologist Kris Kelvin witnesses the return of his dead wife... or at least a projection of her, someone who is subtly different from a real person and yet keeps growing more and more human.
The best thing about Solaris is how the entity's motivations are left ambiguous. Various possibilities are considered: are the apparitions a gift from a benevolent being? Or maybe some kind of test the ocean uses to interact with a life-form so different from its own? The answer is left to viewers, in one of sci-fi's most tantalizing Rorschach tests.
Tarkovsky directs with elegant unbroken shots and a deliberate pace. Horrific moments are barely glimpsed at; the main tone is lyrical, melancholic. This adaptation downplays the scientific elements of Lem's story and puts a religious, mystical spin to it.
8/10
The living ocean of planet Solaris is able to tap into human consciousness to materialize dreams and desires in the form of mysterious beings who visit a Terrestrial outpost; psychologist Kris Kelvin witnesses the return of his dead wife... or at least a projection of her, someone who is subtly different from a real person and yet keeps growing more and more human.
The best thing about Solaris is how the entity's motivations are left ambiguous. Various possibilities are considered: are the apparitions a gift from a benevolent being? Or maybe some kind of test the ocean uses to interact with a life-form so different from its own? The answer is left to viewers, in one of sci-fi's most tantalizing Rorschach tests.
Tarkovsky directs with elegant unbroken shots and a deliberate pace. Horrific moments are barely glimpsed at; the main tone is lyrical, melancholic. This adaptation downplays the scientific elements of Lem's story and puts a religious, mystical spin to it.
8/10