Film Review

FILM REVIEW OF  SOLARIS BY TARKOVSKY 1972 MOSFILM

HUMAN-BEINGS NEED EACH OTHER

By Stephen Wilson

"On the surface , I was calm : In secret without really admitting it, I was

waiting, for something, Her return ? " ponders the main hero of Polish

writer Stanislaw's science fiction novel 'Solaris', Chris Kelvin, a psychologist

sent to investigate the strange events which have occurred at a space

station within the vicinity of an odd planet or star called Solaris. The character

who has arrived at a space-station, is wondering whether his dead wife will

come again to his room !  And he is anxiously awaiting something awesome !

The novel was then used by Russian film Director Andrei Tarkovsky to create his

masterpiece . Many people consider it one of the best Science Fiction

films of all time not only because of the stunningly beautiful shot

scenes but for the brilliant acting of the cast, dramatic dialogue  and the

deep penetration of the characters '  inner lives . This film provocatively

challenges all our cherished assumptions about our lives. It is also, in

a sense, a very disturbing film as it is not an easy film to watch or arrive

at a crystal clear interpretation of the film.

Not everyone was content with this film. The author Stanislaw thought

that Tarkovsky had radically changed the plot so much that the novel

was no longer recognizable. "More like Dostoyevsky's Crime and

Punishment than my novel ". Tarkovsky responded by claiming he had

the right to poetically reinterpret the novel and that Stanislaw did not

appreciate or understand the genre of film-making .

But many people who watch this film might regard it as either dull, slow

and unintelligible. A film of Tarkovsky demands a lot of attention from

the viewer as well as thinking. This is not a film for escapism or to

relax. It requires a lot of deep and penetrative thought ! It also might

be painful for some people to watch as it deals with traumatized events.

The basic plot of the film is that a psychologist, Chris Kelvin, {played

by Donatas Banionis,} a psychologist, is sent to investigate the bizarre

and inexplicable events which have happened on a space station which

does scientific research into a mysterious star or planet called Solaris.

The scientists who work on the station appear to have gone mad and

this may be due to the influence of Solaris. Before Chris leaves the earth

he says farewell to his parents by visiting their house for the last time

as well as interviewing a pilot who has already visited Solaris many years

ago and claimed to have seen a four meter high child on the planet. His

report was dismissed as being part of a hallucination and Chris tactlessly

agrees when he listens to the pilot. This deeply offends the pilot who

upset, storms off. But Chris Kelvin is a man haunted by a traumatic past.

His wife killed herself 10 years ago and Chris can't quite get over this. In

one poignant scene we see him burning all his photos, papers and things

connected to his past, including a photo of his dead wife. It is as he wants

to kill the old self and begin a new liberating journey.

When Chris arrives at the space station there is no friendly reception. He

finds himself in a very drab, dull and battered space station. The scientists

who meet him are so paranoiac that one of them almost physically assaults

him wrongly believing Chris is attacking him. While one scientist has

committed suicide , others are behaving in an erratic and abnormal way.They

also appear unhelpful as well as secretive as if wishing to conceal some

unmentionable crimes or deeds. Just to arrange a meeting with Doctor Snaut

{Juri Jarvet} entails a feat. It is as if nobody wants to meet him. Then Chris

wakens up in the night to find that his dead wife has come to his room. She

not only looks but feels like a real tangible person. Where did she come from?

Is Chris hallucinating or is she a ghost , replica or double ? The replica , played

brilliantly by Natalya Bondarchuk does not know anything about her past or how

she came to Chris. When Chris tries to leave her she starts to cry and Chris

scolds her : "Are you a child or what ? " But when he leaves her or fails to

watch her she kills herself over and over again. When she dies, she mysteriously

comes alive again. It is as if the suicide of his wife relentlessly haunts him.

He just can't escape from her. When he and his wife are invited to a birthday

party one insensitive scientist brutally tells her : " You are not real. You are just

a replica ". The other scientist scold him for his cruel words.  But is the replica

real or not ? Does it matter? When Hari asks : "What was your wife like ? Why

did she kill herself ? " Chris answers : "I'm not sure . Perhaps she thought I did

not love her enough ! " But Chris learns the importance of how to love a person.

It is now clear that the planet Solaris began to send replicas or influence the

psyche of the scientists on the play station after they performed dangerous

nuclear experiments on the planet. It is when the scientists decide to send a

message to the planet via Chris's brain waves that the strange events stop.

Hari leaves Chris a farewell message and destroys herself so that he can move

forward in his life.

Many of the themes of this film are that humanity is not spiritually mature enough

or ready for space travel. If humanity does not understand itself how can it

grasp other worlds ? "We don't need other worlds, we need mirrors".The film

poses questions such as :' What makes us human ? Do we really love someone

or our own false view of him or her ? What does it mean to love someone ? To

what extent are we responsible for the suicide of another person? How easy is

it to forgive ourselves never mind other people ?'  It is clear that Tarkovsky had

a  romantic and religious view of things which entailed a much more

sophisticated interpretation of the Orthodox faith you will encounter in many

churches. Like Chekhov, he believed that the Orthodox church was a friend of

the artist. If you watch the film attentively, you will notice there is an Icon of

the famous painter Andrei Rublev 's Holy Trinity in Chris's room. This is no accident.

Perhaps Tarkovsky was saying that there are clear spiritual limits on how much

we are allowed to know or pursue science in the world. And the scientists appear

to have transcended the limits of the planet , so God, is attempting to awaken

the conscience of every scientist . In this way, people will begin a much more

productive journey than  space travel leading them to become better spiritual beings.

Whether Stanislaw would accept such an interpretation remains open. In fact,

in his novel one of the characters asks : " Do you believe in an imperfect God?"

Both the novel and the film raise disturbing questions. Nevertheless it is worth

watching . It remains one of the best Russian classic films of the cinema. And

don't forget to read the original novel by Stanislaw.