For some time there was a widely held notion zealously fostered by the daily press to the effect that the thinking ocean of solaris was a gigantic brain, prodigiously welldeveloped and several million years in advance of our own civilization, a sort of cosmic yogi, a sage, a symbol of omniscience, which had long ago understood the. Then a research party met with a fatal accident while exploring the surface and a member of the. The film was cowritten and directed by andrei tarkovsky, and stars donatas banionis and natalya bondarchuk. With natalya bondarchuk, donatas banionis, juri jarvet, vladislav dvorzhetskiy. Kris kelvin is a renowned psychologist, about to head to the space station orbiting the planet solaris. Star wars, star trek, and some other thing that starts with star. The catch22 is that the planet knows no more than its visitors know about these absent people.
The name solaris means of the sun and is of latin origin. Andrei tarkovskys solaris 1972 is a pensive and brooding masterpiece of russian cinema, a film that stays with viewers and demands repeat viewings in order to decipher its complex themes. For a while, james cameron was looking to remake solaris. Often cited as the soviet unions response to 2001, tarkovskys film stands as a visually stunning masterwork and a unique experience, separate from. Ground control has been receiving mysterious transmissions from the three remaining residents of the solaris space station. However, ideas regarding the meaning of life, why we want the meaning of life, and why we want to have contact with extraterrestrials, are all considered in this master work. When cosmonaut and psychologist kris kelvin is dispatched to investigate, he experiences the same strange phenomena that afflict the solaris crew, sending him on a voyage into the darkest recesses of his consciousness. However, the result of these manifestations is beyond the humans comprehension, except, perhaps for gibarian, who directly beckons kelvin to come to solaris, because.
He finds the station rundown and the two remaining scientists cold and secretive. Solyaris is a 1972 soviet science fiction art film based on stanislaw lem s novel of the same name published in 1961. It was long and slow and the dialogue seemed deliberately dry. Tarkovskys artistic vision, poetic, refined, subtle, yet stunning, has the capability of making a profound cerebral impact upon the viewer with breathtaking scenery, mystic and melancholic atmospherics, a compelling storyline, and. During its days of production, tarkovsky used to ask his cast and crew what they thought was the most important episode in the film. Released in 1972, solaris was brought to the screen by andrei tarkovsky. Solaris is name thats been used by parents who are considering unisex or nongendered baby namesbaby names that can be used for any gender. The original 1961 novel by stanislaw lem, upon which the two movies was based, contained a lot of philosophical dialogue. A psychologist examines scientists at a space station. Solaris is supposedly science fiction, but since it isnt really interested in explaining any of the science very clearly, much of it can also be interpreted as mystical, or even religious. His production company lightstorm entertainment spent close to five years securing the rights with both author stanislaw lem and the russian film studio mosfilm, which owns the 1972 russian film by andrei tarkovsky based on the novel. To an extent perhaps either somewhat small or even somewhat large, tarkovskys 1972 science fiction opus solaris is a response to kubricks science fiction masterpiece 2001. Solaris tells the story of a planet that reads minds, and obliges its visitors by devising and providing people they have lost, and miss.
Whatever your own state of mind, you can watch solaris free online. In solaris, tarkovsky explores various themes, most notably grief. Tarkovskys fame rests on only a handful of films, two of which were science fiction, this film and stalker, based on. Solaris represents a multistaged sequence of dying lasting up until it reaches its decisive mark, after which the reverse process begins.
Solaris and the satellite are metaphors for god and earth. In the end, he decides to not go back to earth, is transformed by solaris into a cloned creature, and lives a life of blissful illusion with the rheyacreature. These words, uttered by the disillusioned and paranoid dr snaut yuri yarvet, paint in one simple stroke the existential horror and frightening truth of andrei tarkovsky s 1972 magnum opus from solaris. Solaris is more like a place you visit for a few hours. Andrei tarkovsky belongs to that handful of filmmakers dreyer, bresson, vigo, tati who, with a small, concentrated body of work, created a universe. After the mysterious demise of one of the three scientists on the base, the main character is sent out to replace him. Although solaris retains some of the softer scifi aspects of lems novel, tarkovskys pacing is less moved by narrative detail than thematic and metaphorical suggestion, which imbues the film, typical of the directors entire oeuvre, with a herculean amount of objects that appear charged with meaning beyond their immediate purpose.
Andrei tarkovsky considered this particular episode to be. Solaris 1972 the mysteriousness of the unknown, unseen, and unheard i t is an undoubtedly scary thing to think about t he vast unknowns of the uncharted areas of both the human mind and the universe. Solaris is more than a film, its a deeply affecting cinematic experience. Final project for contemporary film theory by anchitta. This article is a critical analysis of the year 2002 movie solaris. A psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane. But tarkovskys 1972 story of a sentient planet and the hallucinations with which it tempts and torments a nearby space station has an entirely different existential conception of mankinds venture into the unknown realms of space and time. As the film opens, two astronauts have died in a space station circling the planet, and the survivors have sent back alarming messages. Solaris is a haunting, meditative film that uses scifi to raise complex questions about humanity and existence. I was a bit disappointed that the movie didnt delve into deeper, more classic scifi elements and. Perhaps this is the only way in which solaris can communicate in a way that has any reference or meaning to the humans onboard the station. Solyaris is a 1972 soviet science fiction art film based on stanislaw lems novel of the same name published in 1961. Solaris is a 2002 american science fiction drama film written and directed by steven soderbergh, produced by james cameron and jon landau, and starring george clooney and natascha mcelhone.
Realizing the problems of science fiction movies, tarkovsky set. Like, he was just trapped in an infinite loop the movie, with the end suggesting that the events of the movie arent the first time theyve happened. Solyaris, andrei tarkovskys famous science fiction film released in 1972. Solaris is a unique science fiction film that explores the meaning of being human and challenges its audience to undertake a greater examination of their own conscious reality. And oh boy was that movie a trip, stylistically quite the unique film. These words, uttered by the disillusioned and paranoid dr snaut yuri yarvet, paint in one simple stroke the existential horror and frightening truth of andrei tarkovskys 1972 magnum opus from solaris. Video essay on solaris 1972 and how the film challenge what it means to be human. The movie adaptations follow the gist of the novel, but movies can never capture the depth of meaning a book can. Several viewings are required to fully appreciate all the nuances, and i am still discovering new aspects with each viewing. Though he made only seven features, thwarted by soviet censors and then by cancer, each honored his ambition to crash through the surface of ordinary life and find a larger spiritual meaning, to heal modern arts secular fragmentation by. The first one is a masterpiece of cold war paranoia, the second is a pretty damn good movie about cults and the alienation of modern cities and it has that great downbeat ending with donald sutherland doing the point, the third was made in 1993 and directed by abel driller killer ferrara i havent seen but is highly regarded by some and. Rather than make a direct adaptation, tarkovsky turned lems science fiction story into a psychological drama. Solaris is a 1961 philosophical science fiction novel by polish writer stanislaw lem.
The movie is designed to make a philosophical point about our existence, which was made clear with the line. In 1968, the russians produced the movie adaptation. Four times telling polish scifi writer stanislav lem wrote his novel solaris in 1961. With solaris, the legendary russian filmmaker andrei. This version of solaris is a very satisfying viewing experience beginning with a great script and tight direction, the performances by a great cast hits all the right notes. Several years earlier solaris was the focal point of scientific research. But then the overall shape of the film floated into view, there were images of startling beauty, then developments that questioned the fundamental. Hi everyone, solaris has been on my list to explain and analyse for ages and im really pleased to be able to share this video with you on my film analysis series. Based on the classic scifi novel by stanislaw lem, this is probably director andrei tarkovskys best known film and far more than just a science fiction epic. Im also really loving all this attention solaris is getting, even though its. Based on a novel by stanislaw lem, solaris centers on widowed psychologist kris kelvin donata banionis, who is sent to a space station orbiting a waterdominated planet called solaris to. Harey, snaut, kris, sartorius, burton, father, gibarian.
It is based on the 1961 science fiction novel of the same name by polish writer stanislaw lem reflecting on andrei tarkovskys critically acclaimed 1972 film solaris which was itself preceded by a 1968. It is obviously filled with meaning, perhaps of the same sort as the movie or perhaps completely different. I come to this analysis without the benefit and perhaps baggage of having read the stanislaw lem story by the same name. Meer lezen the opening scene of tarkovskys solaris. So after posting yesterday about wanting to get into the work of andrei tarkovsky i decided to dive into solaris due to my love of scifi. It was my first experience of tarkovsky, and at first i balked. A film set aboard a lonely, halfabandoned space station orbiting the equally enigmatic titular planet, solaris provides a more probing look. A space odyssey tarkovsky apparently despised kubircks film for various reasons, as tarkovsky felt that 2001 was ultimately cold and sterile lopate. Science fiction, or scifi, is a story that draws on imagined scientific advances for its themes and plot. Followed by the dire message that if you keep trying to look for. The solaris mission has established a base on a planet that appears to host some kind of intelligence, but the details are hazy and very secret.
With solaris, despite not having star in its title, were definitely in science fiction land because it features space travel, distant planets, alien life, and psychic whozits. Apologies to tarkovsky purists, many of which will argue there is no such novelty as a twist in any of his movies, but in this one, there is. Why solaris is the greatest science fiction film ever made. This is surely the case for the protagonist of tarkovskys penetrating sciencefiction odyssey solaris 1972, a film in which space and time exist in a constant state of displacement through subjective memory, fantasy, and emotion. A film set aboard a lonely, halfabandoned space station orbiting the equally enigmatic titular planet, solaris provides a more probing look into the narcissism of man than any film set on terra firma. I saw his 1972 film solaris at the chicago film festival that year. Solaris is one of those classics that virtually every critic will assure you is amazing, but when you get right down to it, the films nothing but a pretentious mess.
298 1225 894 348 588 1394 1184 314 755 584 1041 1055 1281 779 394 1350 675 1395 634 27 688 1084 741 1097 693 666 37 1090 422 862 1234 215 961 2 1200 91 730 1373 871 639 219 432