Lost in Space

Tarkovsky is first and foremost a film poet. He can construct shots that seem to have an endless depth of meaning. And it is in the individual shot that he excels. Like all of Tarkovsky's films, Solaris seems to depict primarily its characters' emotional, or spiritual, states.

Solaris is based on Stanislaw Lem's science fiction novel of the same name. The central plot could almost be taken from a Star Trek episode. But this is very definitely a Tarkovsky film and he has little concern for scientific gadgetry. As in all of his films, the pacing is slow. Viewers are meant to think about what they're seeing, not merely be occupied by it.

Solaris is a planet that seems to be nothing but ocean. A futuristic space agency has set up an orbital station to study it. After a number of bizarre happenings on the station, Chris (Donatas Banionis), a sort of space-travelling psychiatrist, is sent to investigate. He finds that one of the last three residents has just committed suicide, and the other two are acting very curiously.

He begins to catch glimpses of others on board, but when he asks his colleagues about it, they feign ignorance. Before long he encounters his wife, Hari (Natalya Bondarchuk), who had committed suicide several years before. Now the others explain to him that they have been experiencing "visitors" for some time. He attempts to send Hari to earth in a space capsule, but she almost immediately returns. She severely injures herself, and miraculously heals within minutes. Physically, she is clearly not human. But she does have human emotions and that which we might see as constituting a "soul." Whether this is the soul of Hari or of an alien being in her form isn't clear.

The film seems to be an exploration of what makes us human. Is it our the form of our bodies? Or, is it something much deeper?

If you are looking for space adventure, you will be quite bored here. But if you are willing to spend time thoughtfully engaged in a film, you will find Solaris a fascinating exploration.

-- Robert Stewart