Solaris (1972)
"Solyaris" (original title)

A psychologist is sent to a space station orbiting an alien planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.

Director:

Andrei Tarkovsky

Writers:

Stanislaw Lem (novel), Fridrikh Gorenshtein (screenplay),

Stars:

Natalya Bondarchuk, Donatas Banionis, Jüri Järvet

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Natalya Bondarchuk	...	Hari
Donatas Banionis	...	Kris Kelvin
Jüri Järvet	...	Dr. Snaut
Vladislav Dvorzhetskiy	...	Henri Berton
Nikolay Grinko	...	Kelvin's Father
Anatoliy Solonitsyn	...	Dr. Sartorius
Olga Barnet	...	Kris Kelvin's Mother (as O. Barnet)
Vitalik Kerdimun	...	André Berton's son (as V. Kerdimun)
Olga Kizilova	...	Gibarian's she-guest (as O. Kizilova)
Tatyana Malykh	...	Kris Kelvin's niece
Aleksandr Misharin	...	Shannahan, Berton's expedition host (as A. Misharin)
Bagrat Oganesyan	...	Professor Trajet (as B. Oganesyan)
Tamara Ogorodnikova	...	Anna, Kris Kelvin's aunt
Sos Sargsyan	...	Dr. Gibarian, a physiologist (as S. Sarkisyan)
Yulian Semyonov	...	Chairman of Investigation Commission (as Yu. Semyonov)

Storyline

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. After the mysterious demise of one of the three scientists on the base, the main character is sent out to replace him. He finds the station run-down and the two remaining scientists cold and secretive. When he also encounters his wife who has been dead for ten years, he begins to appreciate the baffling nature of the alien intelligence.

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Plot Keywords:

scientist | psychologist | space station | ocean | alien | 

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian German

Release Date:

20 March 1972 (Soviet Union)

Also Known As:

Solaris

Filming Locations:

Akasaka, Minato, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

RUR 1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Creative Unit of Writers & Cinema Workers, Kinostudiya ''Mosfilm'', Unit Four

Technical Specs

Runtime:

167 min 115 min (first release)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color (Sovcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Lem's novel, Hari is spelt "Harey", an anagram of Rheya. This is probably a reference to the titan "Rhea", who was mother of the Gods in Greek mythology, and which is also the name of a moon of Saturn. Rhea was the wife of Cronus/Saturn (the ruler of time), and the sister of Oceanus (Solaris is an ocean planet) and Tethys, a sea goddess, as well as the mother of Poseidon/Neptune; her parents were Uranus (the sky god) and Gaia (the earth goddess).

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Goofs

The camera crew is reflected in the video screen as Chris watches Dr. Gibarian's message.

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Quotes

Hari: Did you ever think of me?
Kris Kelvin: Only when I was sad.

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Connections

Referenced in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

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Soundtracks

"Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ"
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, BWV 639

User Reviews

!"Nobody loves poetry like a Russian!"

This line from Dr Zhivago says all you have to know about Tarkovsky. He was a thinker and a poet. An artist who's work was at once smart, engaging and aesthetically beautiful! Solaris is a world that materialized thoughts and absorbs creatures into its own consciousness. "Solaris" is an allegory on man's place in the universe, the twisted concept of reality, the meaning of love, grief and - ultimately - life. Psychiatrist Kris Kelvin goes to the station orbiting the planet-entity to assess whether the madness of it's occupants means all exploration should be discontinued. What he finds there are all the demons he has brought with him. You the viewer shall experience the same thing, for Solaris is an inviting and questioning but never manipulative film. What you'll get out of it depends on what you bring with you.

Solaris is often accused of being slow. This is a common misinterpretation: Solaris makes you anxious, and willingly so. Too many segments are like mirrors that invite your mind to venture off into many uncomfortable a place (the traffic scene comes to mind: an allegory for the space voyage but also for fading life and powerlessness). Solaris also makes you fear, with a sense that something isn't quite right and as with the best horror films, what you dread often isn't even on screen. Solaris makes you heart ache on several occasions as well. It makes you miss loved ones and it makes you feel homesick. every additional minute that separates you from the gorgeous opening shots of nature makes you long for Earth.

Solaris is many things but above all it is simply more than entertainment: it is a voyage for the senses, like a favorite song that binds countless disconnected feelings and thoughts. It is a poem.