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Written by: Stanislaw Lem (novel "Solaris"), Fridrikh Gorenshteyn & Andrei Tarkovsky (screenplay)
Directed by: Andrei Tarkovsky
Starring: Donatas Banionis, Natalya Bondarchuk, Jüri Järvet, Vladislav Dvorzhetsky, Nikolai Grinko, Anatoly Solonitsyn
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer
Plot
A psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.
Verdict
This provides a unique idea for alien contact and motives that the scientists don't understand. When you venture into the void of space, what will you find? This leads to the question of why humans explore space. It isn't to meet aliens, it's the desire to expand, conquer, and claim. Humans just want to see their reflection. Space travel is just a means to exert their superiority. The pacing is measured, and that along with the slow opening and age veers towards more of a film class movie, but it's a philosophical question of what space travel means and what we expect.
It depends.
Review
The opening is a bit slow with the main item of interest imparting the mysteries of Solaris. A pilot claims to see visions and figures on Solaris, but the video returns nothing substantial. It's written off as hallucinations, but part of that dismissal is that those in charge don't want to halt the exploration of Solaris. Now something is happening on the space station again, and Kelvin (Donatas Banionis) is called to investigate.
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| Donatas Banionis plays Kelvin |
Kelvin finds the space station in disarray. Cryptic messages from the crew about their experiences and what they've seen are underscored with them also claiming to be sane. You know something is going on when people are adamant about that.
The difference between this and the remake is that the remake is geared to contemporary sensibilities. It's a better movie, at least deeper, though also not as entertaining. It's also quite a bit shorter, excising the opening on earth. The original is more of a horror movie, but it also asks the question of why humans are so adamant about space travel. That's a more interesting question. The movie offers the solution that it's because humans want to establish domination over the universe and see their reflection on every surface. The remake is human focused, asking what's real and if you can't tell does it matter. Would you rather live in a fantasy or confront reality.
Kelvin sees a woman on the station, a woman that shouldn't and couldn't be on the ship. He wakes up and discovers why everyone is so distressed. His wife has appeared, and we know that's impossible. This version of his wife is dependent, hysterical when he leaves the room. She also mentions a scientist on the the station, someone she wouldn't know. So, who is this?
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| Donatas Banionis plays Kelvin |
Kelvin is told it's some kind of alien contact. While it may be first contact, it's unnerving. The woman Kelvin loved and mourned is back, but it's not exactly the woman he knew. This version is hyper dependent. It's likely the other scientist are or have gone through the same thing, though that's not the focus of the movie. We only see Kelvin's connection with the "visitor."
Kelvin and the others on the station question why aliens would take the image of Kelvin's wife. What's the goal? Is it create an emotional connection? The movie is pessimistic in discussing Earth's goals of space exploration. Earth wants to spread across the universe but isn't interested in making contact. It's manifest destiny, taking over the universe to exert dominance.
Taking the form of someone Kelvin loves creates a prison. His wife is back, and even if it's not really her he lives in this limbo, trying to hold on to her memory. Solaris the planet may be its own entity, that's unclear, but it's a certainty that it has a hold on Kelvin. It echoes what one of the scientists said earlier, about Earth wanting to see itself. Kelvin is seeing the images he creates reflected back.
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