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

Snaut mentions the legend of Martin Luther and the inkwell. Luther, who was the founder of the Protestant Reformation, is said to have thrown an inkwell at the Devil to drive him away, when he tried to annoy him in the night. This may, in fact, be a simple misunderstanding. Although there is an ink stain on the wall of Luther's room at the Wartburg, the notion that he had "driven the Devil away with ink", may in fact refer to his German translation of the Bible, and his writings, and so to be taken metaphorically.

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Goofs

During Snouth's birthday party, Chris falls to his knees in front of Hari. The camera clearly shows she is barefoot. In the following long shot, she is wearing shoes.

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Quotes

Kris Kelvin: There are so few of us!

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Connections

Referenced in Cargo (2009)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

A gem of sci-fi & much more...

Haven't seen any other Tarkofsky. I hear that this is the film he is least fond of. I intend to see more of him.

As some other reviewer said, I had the feeling through the first one hour or so that some scenes went on for too long, or seemed a bit unnecessary and that it was too slow for the message to clearly be presented. But after a while, the slow pacing DID have a positive impact on the context of the film and on the "dialogue" between the film and the viewer. Anyway, after its plain & simple beginning, when the "action" is taken to the space station things get more and more interesting. No spoon-feeding here, as well. If you want all the mysteries in a film to be solved and explained, then you might not wanna see this, because the film is up to the viewer to think and dive in deep. Anyway, it ended up satisfying and leaving one in thoughts.

I am so glad I got to see this fabulous thoughtful movie. It's full of nice visuals and context. A recommendation to all who are fed up with Hollywood crap - but even Hollywood geeks could find many in this, if they can tolerate with the slow pace...