Solaris, 1972

Location: Front Lawn


Andrei Tarkovsky
Solaris, 1972
166 minutes
Courtesy Curzon Film

About the film:
Solaris is often cited as one of the greatest science fiction films in the history of cinema. A 1972 Soviet film, it is based on Stanisław Lem’s 1961 novel of the same title. 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 and the film also features a composition by J.S. Bach as its main theme.

The film’s plot revolves around the Solaris mission, which 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.

Solaris won the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Palme d’Or. The film was Tarkovsky’s attempt to bring greater emotional depth to science fiction films; he viewed most Western works in the genre, including the recently released 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), as shallow due to their focus on technological invention. Some of the ideas Tarkovsky expresses in this film are further developed in his later film Stalker (1979).

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