The 1972 film Solaris (Соля́рис) is a Russian film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and is considered by most to be an outstanding work of art. Tarkovsky viewed this film as one of his only failures. The aim of the film was to take a science novel and direct a film that was genre-less. The film opens with Kris Kelvin who is sent to a mysterious planet where three scientists have been studying the new world. Kris is sent to replace one of the scientists who is mysteriously deceased. Once he arrives he finds the laboratory to be desolate, unkept, and the scientists (Snaut and Sartorious) distant and confusing.
Dr. Sartorius: "Man was created by Nature in order to explore it. As he approaches Truth he is fated to Knowledge. All the rest is bullshit."
Kris begins to discover that the planet Solaris is alive and is materializing the thoughts and fears of his mind... even bringing his deceased wife back to his side.
2 comments:
I haven't seen this older version of the film, but I did see the remake with George Clooney. I found the movie to be interesting at times, but it failed to keep my attention after the first half an hour.
Tarkovsky is supposed to be an amazing director, though I've never seen anything of his. I'd like to see this one half for him and half for Stanislaw Lem who, if I'm not mistaken wrote the story. I've read short stories of his, and some things sort of like stories. His writing is cool, like a mix of Asimov and Calvino.
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