SOLARIS

Andrei Tarkovsky,
1972, 2hour 47min

Solaris is a 1972 Soviet science fiction art film based on Stanisław Lem’s 1961 novel of the same name. The film was co-written and directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, and stars Donatas Banionis and Natalya Bondarchuk. The electronic music score was performed by Eduard Artemyev; a composition by J.S. Bach is also employed.

The plot centers on a space station orbiting the fictional planet Solaris, where a scientific mission has stalled because the skeleton crew of three scientists have fallen into emotional crises. Psychologist Kris Kelvin (Banionis) travels to the station in order to evaluate the situation, only to encounter the same mysterious phenomena as the others. The film was Tarkovsky’s attempt to bring a new emotional depth to science fiction films; he viewed most western works in the genre as shallow due to their focus on technological invention.