Review of Solaris (2002) by Andrew O — 23 Feb 2016

Okay so not only had I not seen this version of Solaris in at least ten years, but I also have never seen the 1970's original. Quelle horreur.

That said upon revisiting the 2002 version of Solaris I remembered exactly what I loved about it 14 years ago. There is an incredible dreamlike quality to the film, which most people will automatically equate to meaning boring. But I'm cool with that. Visually it is entrancing, with many long camera pans over the brightly coloured, ever changing world, accompanied by mellow electronic music to aid the general vibe.

The actual nitty gritty of the film concerns strange happenings aboard an exploratory space station at some point in the not too distant future, and George Clooney's psychiatrist attempting to suss out just what on earth happened, after being invited half way across the galaxy by an old friend after things seemingly hit the proverbial fan. So far so Event Horizon, albeit sans gore, more a journey into the inner workings of the mind, love, perception of what is real, and what it means to be human. All while orbiting a giant pink/purple/blue cloud that just loves raising the dead.

Ultimately Solaris isn't as deep as it thinks, is rather slow paced, almost to a fault, but if you stick with it you may well find it as fascinating as I did, and still do.