Solaris

52 Ratings: 1.5

Action & Adventure and Science Fiction & Fantasy movie directed by Steven Soderbergh

A curious mix of science fiction and metaphysical love story, Solaris centers around Chris Kelvin (George Clooney), a psychologist sent to investigate why a space station orbiting an alien planet has stopped communications. The planet has the … see full wiki

Tags: Movies, Action Movies, Science Fiction Movies

Cast: George Clooney, Natascha McElhone, Jeremy Davies, Viola Davis, Ulrich Tukur

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Genre: Action, Adventure

Release Date: November 27, 2002

MPAA Rating: PG-13

1 review about Solaris

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A subdued romance disguised as a sci-fi movie

Oct 24, 2007

by The_Straw_Man

Rating:

I can recall seeing Solaris (2002 version) about a year after it came out on home video. The movie appeared interesting and it seemed like a different type of film for George Clooney. I had no real expectations for the movie, I do remembering I rented this movie several days after I broke up with a girlfriend. This might have added to my fondness for the film.

Solaris is a very much a film of atmosphere, it is quite, mellow, dark, dreamy, devoted and has flares of intense energy. It sounds like it might be action pack, yet it really isn't. As a matter of fact, this movie is rather slow and takes awhile for the plot to reveal itself. I never found that to be a problem, while other viewers might. The lush colors painted in outer space and wonderful ambient soundtrack by Cliff Martinez (one of the best pieces of ambient music, I ordered the soundtrack as soon as the movie was over) was paramount in my viewing of this film. The soundtrack along with the images makes this movie a vision of beautiful tapestry.

It wasn't until after I watch Solaris (2002) that I realized this film was a remake of a Russian film. I did seek the original and have to say that in juxtaposition, both movies are very different. The original (also called Solaris made in 1972) is very philosophical and focuses more humankind, where the remake is also philosophical, not as much as the 1972 version, but really focuses on a romance storyline. I have to be honest I feel many romance centered plots are cheesy and/or insipid. Nevertheless, I found the romance storyline in Solaris to be absolutely divine.

I also felt this was a strong performance for George Clooney and it seemed like it was a role that he hadn't tackled at that point in his career. I also felt Natascha McElhnoe was hypnotic in this film. There were times she appeared malicious and others where she was figurehead of love. Viola Davis and Jeremy Davies also provide some wonderful acting jobs in this movie. I give Steven Soderbergh credit, he was brave enough to allow music, atmosphere, editing and set design play a huge part in this movie. This can be a difficult ruse to pull off and I feel he did a fine job.

There is a fair amount of people who feel that this version is inferior to the original. Perhaps if I had seen the 1972 version first I might share that opinion. However, I feel this remake can stand on its own two feet. I don't think Steven Soderbergh was trying to recreate the original, just add some new texture to it. It was interesting to see a Russian version and an American version of the same film. That would be a wonderful social sciences endeavor. For instance, in the American version all of the actors/actresses are very attractive where in the Russian version they are more "average" looking.

Overall for a "Hollywood-ized" remake of a classic sci-fi film, I found Solaris to be a great film and a deviation from the standard Hollywood movie i.e. flat characters, tons of CGI, shoddy editing, pointless plot and poor directing. I can totally understand if Solaris isn't taken in by everyone. It is slow and is really more of subdued romance disguised as a sci-fi movie. I can also see how people who love the 1972 version might find this remake as heresy. Consequently, I enjoyed and own both versions of Solaris and recommend them as wonderful and intelligent pieces of cinema.

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