jamesrupert2014 Review of Solaris

Solaris (1972)

Slow-moving and cryptic, perhaps brilliant but not very entertaining

[7/10 · 23 April 2019]

In this adaptation of Russian science fiction author Stanislaw Lem's eponymous novel, psychologist Kris Kelvin (Donatas Banionis) is sent to a space-station observing the water-covered planet 'Solaris' to investigate strange messages being sent back to Earth by the three-man crew. When he arrives, he finds one crewman dead and the other two convinced that there are other people, "guests" as they call them, aboard the station who are manifestations of their subconscious memories generated by the living planet below. Kelvin is skeptical until his long-dead wife Hari (Natalya Bondarchuk) appears in his quarters. Be prepared: Andrei Tarkovsky's film is polarising, some viewers (and many critics) compare 'Solaris' to '2001: A Space Odyssey' (1968) as one of the greatest science-fiction movies ever made, others condemn it as an overly-long, boring exercise in non-expository story telling (especially those who view the film after being assured that it is a masterpiece). The scenes on the Solaris station are excellent as is the acting (admittedly reading subtitles, as I did, is a step away from listening to the characters), but the opening scenes are very slow (especially the interminable drive through Tokyo substituting for either a future Moscow or a fictional city). The theme underlying Lem's book is the difficulty (or impossibility) of communication with, or even remotely understanding, a completely alien mind, so viewers expecting an explanation (or even a lucid hint) of what is happening to the crew or of the nature of the ostensibly 'sentient ocean' will be disappointed (as will anyone expecting graceful dockings of spaceships in magnificent spinning space-stations), and (IMO) the final scene is as unsatisfyingly cryptic as the end of Kubrick's opus. 'Solaris' is an interesting film but not an entertaining film and is a 'must-see' (actually or expectedly) for fans of the genre, especially those who think that they'd still like '2001' without HAL or the landmark special effects.