Solaris

[bix171]

Steven Soderbergh’s Americanized remake of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Soviet 1972 science-fiction/philosophical space opera is a bold project, given that the material he’s adopting—taken from the novel by Stanislaw Lem but directly inspired by Tarkovsky—is subdued and grim, with plenty of inertia (even though more than an hour of the tedious original is lopped off). Here, Soderbergh departs from the source material and wisely concentrates on the relationships between his characters rather than the philosophical concerns that grounded Tarkovsky’s film. But the material remains perhaps too daunting for modern audiences, with George Clooney (rapidly becoming one of our most introspective actors) as a psychiatrist who travels to a space station surrounding a mysterious planet that sends emissaries representing the troubled past of the station’s inhabitants; in Clooney’s case, it’s the apparition of his suicide wife (Natascha McElhone) that rekindles his dormant but conflicted emotions. Although it’s clearly a personal film for Soderbergh about the ephemeral nature of interaction, it’s unfortunately not compelling enough to be little more than another experimental challenge for him (as studied and careful as “Full Frontal” was spontaneous and indulgent), albeit a beautifully shot one (filmed, as usual, by the director under the pseudonym Peter Andrews; he also edited the film as Mary Ann Bernard) with a production design by Philip Messina that pays subtle homage to Tarkovsky’s original.

[Howard Schumann]

I liked it better than you apparently. Here is my recent review comparing two versions:


SOLARIS

Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky (1972),
Steven Soderbergh (2002)

Though lovers be lost love shall not; And death shall have no dominion - Dylan Thomas

Armed with scientific curiosity, a desire for adventure, and a chauvinistic desire to spread its power to other realms, mankind has always dreamed about traveling to outer space. What is ironic is, as the film Solaris suggests, the journey may only bring us closer to confronting inner space: our fears, regrets, feelings of guilt, and issues of conscience. Based on the novel by Stanislaw Lem, Solaris has been filmed twice: once by the great Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky in 1972 and recently by Steven Soderbergh in a much more condensed version, though the idea can be traced to the 1962 film, Journey to the Seventh Planet. The three-hour plus Tarkovsky version takes place almost entirely within the claustrophobic confines of a space ship but the philosophical space is vast. Tarkovsky's film is exceedingly slow-paced with his trademark long takes, static compositions, and mood of solemnity, yet it contains haunting images of cinematic poetry.

Set at an undisclosed time in the future, the film opens with psychologist Kris Kelvin (Donatas Banionis) gazing at a lovely image of underwater reeds rising and falling in cadence. He then visits his estranged father in his countryside home in a fifteen minute sequence that is not present in Lem's novel, but crucial to the film's conclusion. When Burton, a friend of his father, warns Kris of strange happenings on the space station surrounding the oceanic planet Solaris, Kris is sent to investigate. After an extended highway montage of Burton's car ride home that perhaps suggests a road going nowhere, Kris arrives at the space station to find that one of the crew has committed suicide, and the others talking about ghost-like apparitions that resemble dead loved ones. He gradually discovers that the planet they are circling is a living entity, producing exact copies of people extracted from the crew's memory. One of the "guests" is Hari (Natalya Bondarchuk), Kris' wife who took her own life.

Though able to regenerate herself after being sent on a rocket into space, she slowly begins to take on human characteristics and Kris becomes as attached to her as to the memory of his wife. The character of the psychologist is much less emotional than in the Soderbergh version and the lack of flashbacks makes it difficult to fully appreciate the trauma of Kris' recent past. In a gorgeous scene, Hari discovers a painting by Pieter Bruegel of a village in winter that helps her get in touch with snowy scenes from Kris' childhood, enhancing her development toward being human. As the alien Hari realizes, however, that she can never become the real Hari, she separates herself physically and emotionally from Kris, suggesting that the created memory of the past is more real than the reality of the present. While Tarkovsky's film is plagued with poor editing and other technical difficulties and struggles to amass any cumulative power, it is filled with unforgettable images that remain indelible and a philosophical depth that demands repeat viewing.

In Soderbergh's leaner and more accessible film, George Clooney is Kelvin, the psychologist whose wife has committed suicide. He is sent to the space station Prometheus to investigate the loss of contact with the Solaris mission after receiving a plea from Commander Gibarian (Ulrich Tukur), a Prometheus astronaut. When he arrives he finds that Gibarian has committed suicide, Dr. Helen Gordon (Viola Davis) has barricaded herself in her room, and scientist Snow (Jeremy Davis) is barely comprehensible in his attempts to explain what is taking place. Kelvin quickly learns that Solaris is not just an inert planet but a sentient being (perhaps a metaphor for Heaven) that creates exact replicas of people from the crew's past including Gibarian's young son and Kelvin's wife Rheya (Natasha McElhone).

Increasingly drawn to the double of his wife, Kelvin is forced to complete the past and take responsibility for her suicide. Enhanced by a lovely score by Cliff Martinez, Soderbergh's is a moody and deeply spiritual version that pares the story down to its essence. As told in numerous flashbacks, much of the film is taken up with Kelvin's memories. In one crucial scene at a dinner party, while Rheya defends the idea of a higher intelligence, Kelvin plays the role of a coldly rational scientist and scoffs at her ideas. Ultimately, with the guidance of the intelligent ocean of Solaris, Kelvin is provided a second chance to confront his demons. Allowed to take responsibility for his past, he is able to embrace the spiritual harmony of the universe. While perhaps less poetic than the Tarkovsky version, it's theme of the pain of love and memory are deeply moving and the film resonates with a quiet beauty all its own.

GRADE: A- Tarkovsky
GRADE: A- Soderbergh

[tabuno]

Perhaps it's my age, I'm getting to old...but Mr. Schumann's early posting here touch on concise, resonating, and compelling nature of both versions of Solaris.

[Howard Schumann]

Originally posted by tabuno
Perhaps it's my age, I'm getting to old...but Mr. Schumann's early posting here touch on concise, resonating, and compelling nature of both versions of Solaris. Thanks very much for your kind comment.

[SteveSW9]

This film is a powerful romance.

It was marketted (wrong) as purely a sci-fi film.

>not compelling enough to be little more than another experimental challenge

For Soderberg?
Hell, I think he developes evermore; like Kubrick in his range.

I may sound foolish here, but Cloony acts like a great actor.

This is a powerful film about the regrets in our love-lives and our existence.

*However Jeremy Davies must be assinated. He is just SH1t.

[Howard Schumann]

Originally posted by SteveSW9
This film is a powerful romance.

It was marketted (wrong) as purely a sci-fi film.

>not compelling enough to be little more than another experimental challenge

For Soderberg?
Hell, I think he developes evermore; like Kubrick in his range.

I may sound foolish here, but Cloony acts like a great actor.

This is a powerful film about the regrets in our love-lives and our existence.

*However Jeremy Davies must be assinated. He is just SH1t. I agree for the most part but would stop short of assassination in this case. Just don't watch any more of his films.

[tabuno]

The way this movie was marketing was terrible. The trailer failed to really offer a clear and honest idea of what this movie was about. Sci Fi is sometimes identified with space adventure, action like Star Wars, but Solaris is much more cerebral and slow moving, alien in fact. The romantic angle was severely lost in the promotion.

Jeremy Davies character, though Jeremy himself seems like his true self in this movie, provides a fascinating character, unusual and different from other characters in other movies and being thus odd, his character contributed to the alienness of the entire set and mood. I enjoyed this off-beat, off-balance personality.