April 16, 2003
Solaris
Solaris is director Andrei Tarkovsky's science fiction opus from
1972, and is considered a masterpiece of Russian filmmaking, along with several of his other
movies like Andrei Rublyov. But to call it a "science
fiction" movie is not doing it justice, as Tarkovsky was interested in
much more than merely bringing Polish author Stanislaw Lem's novel to
life. In keeping with a common thread running through all of his movies,
Tarkovsky was examining the relationship of Man, Nature, and the inner
self more than merely giving a view of the future.
Kris Kelvin (Bulgarian actor Donatas Banionis) is a scientist being sent to a space station orbitting the planet Solaris, who is to decide if the station should be kept funded. Its mission is to investigate a possible alien life force found on the planet, seeming to eminate from a vaste "ocean" on the surface of the planet. In the 20 years of investigation, nothing conclusive had yet been found. The movie begins with a clash between Kris and his father, who are on the 'what is the benefit now' vs. the 'what is the long term benefit' sides of the arguments. Kris views a film of Solaris' discovery, brought to them by the pilot of the ship in question, where the pilot talks of seeing strange sights in the "ocean".
Upon arrival in the eerily quiet and messy space station, Kris begins to see things have gone awry. The scientist he previously knew is now dead, supposedly a suicide, while the other two scientist exhibit some very strange behaviors, furtive glances, and elliptical speech patterns. Then things get really strange when a woman shows up in his room, and we later find out it is his long dead ex-wife, Khari.
It turns out all the scientists have been having the "visions" or apparitions even, showing up, their own personal dreams or nightmares being manifested by the ocean. Kris notices small inconsistencies in the apparition of his ex-wife, played by the bequiling 22 year old Natalya Bondarchuk, daughter of Tarkovsky's mentor, Russian actor/director Sergei Bondarchuk, like the fact that her dress doesn't properly untie, indicating perhaps the alien intelligence is just playing with the humans.
Each of the scientists react in their own way, and the movie continues to explore the human drama, especially as Kris begins to thaw out and feel his emotions more. It is particularily wrenching, because Khari, as Solaris' creation, cannot leave the space station and also knows of the vast differences between her and "real" humans, and continually becomes despondent over it. Kris proclaims his love for her, but she doesn't believe it to be real, and tries to kill herself again (turns out she died of in a suicidal depression after the marriage broke up). But she is an immortal as well, which adds even more to the long list of differences - she heals at a fantastic rate and always comes back, whether she wants to or not.
It sounds very confusing, and in many ways it is. The movie is told at a slow, deliberate pace, as can be seen by the fact that Steven Soderbergh's 2002 remake clocks in at about half this one's 165 minute playing time. But it still feels as if every shot has a meaning that can be discovered if you give it time. And there are many wrenching scenes of heartache and what it means to be a feeling human being, making the journey well worth it.
The DVD, which Criterion has re-issued in its usual stellar way, is really nice. The picture is pretty sharp after all these years, and the sound and music crisp and clear. Included on the DVD I received from Netflix was a commentary track by two Tarkovsky scholars. I watched this track immediately after viewing the movie, and it really helped me come to grips with the symbolism rampant in every scene. I think watching it again without the commentary would be even more enlightening. The package is a two DVD package, but I'm not sure what is on the other one, as Netflix sends out each DVD in a mulitple DVD package as a separate rental.
Buy Solaris (Criterion Special Edition) at DVDPlanet
Sos Sarkisyan, Anatoli Solonitsyn, Donatas Banionis, Juri Jarvet, Natalya Bondarchuk, Nikolai Grinko, Olga Barnet, Vladislav Dvorzhetsky
Ground control has been receiving strange transmissions from the three remaining residents of the Solaris space station.
Posted by jdarnold at April 16, 2003 3:39 PM
