About the film
The scientists orbiting the ocean planet Solaris are falling apart, and psychologist Kris Kelvin is sent to decide whether the mission should end. On the station he finds one man dead, two survivors who will not explain what is happening, and then Hari, his wife, who took her own life years ago.
The ocean seems to be reading the crew's memories and giving them bodies. Tarkovsky is less interested in the science than in guilt, love and what makes us human, and he takes his time: the film is long, slow and hypnotic.
Solaris is often called the Soviet answer to 2001: A Space Odyssey and is one of the most influential science-fiction films ever made.
Did you know?
- It won the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury at Cannes in 1972.
- The famous drive along a futuristic motorway was filmed in Tokyo.
- Stanisław Lem, who wrote the novel, did not like Tarkovsky's version and argued with him about it.
