DVD Review: Solaris (1972) (B+)

Solaris (1972)
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
Starring Donatas Banionis, Natalya Bondarchuk, Juri Jarvet and Anatoli Solonitsyn
MPAA: PG
Grade: B+

Ever wonder what 2001 would be like if it was directed by Ingmar Bergman (and in Russian)? Me either. But the very long, overly complex 1972 space odyssey Solaris based on the book by Stanislaw Lem might be a pretty close facsimile.

A space station hovering above a water covered planet has experienced some serious problems, most notably a psychological disorder among the crew. Making it worse, they surmise that this could be alien interaction, where the ocean reads their dreams, and transmitting these thoughts back to the crew in real form. Kris (Donatas Banionis) is one of the astronauts exploring this new world, and after dreaming of his long dead wife, he is amazed to find her brought back to life. The issues of loss, love, fear and a higher morality are all explored in depth by the happenings above the planet Solaris.

The art direction for Solaris is breathtaking. Shots of nature (for example a beautiful pond that Kris visits) often clash with technology's excess (thousands of cars streaming through a criss cross of highways). In space, the sets are similar to 2001, but with a slightly more ethereal feel to them. In short, this film looks great and is wonderfully presented in this release from one of the best DVD companies around, Criterion.

At a running time of 163 minutes, and due to its complex nature, Solaris is not the kind of film one can enter into lightly. Be prepared: this is not an easy movie to sit through. The film is broken into two parts, and I recommend either breaking the parts over two evenings, or at the very least, taking a nice long stretch between the two segments.

Solaris is a wonderful film. Its obvious why Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Full Frontal) chose this movie for a remake. A deeply intellectual movie with fine performances and a wonderful (albeit long) structure, Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris is a gem of a movie.

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