Solyaris (A.K.A Solaris)

"Man was created by Nature in order to explore it. As he approaches Truth he is fated to Knowledge. All the rest is bullshit."

Okay, well the other day I watched Andrei Tarkovsky's "Stalker" the other day, and I disliked it quite a lot, I found it very boring and dragged. I was considering to just pass checking out any other of Tarkovsky's films, but once I read that "Solyaris" is "Tarkovsky's response to 2001: A Space Odyssey" I was pretty much convinced I had to see the film. I'm so very happy I was not lazy, and that I decided to check this film out.

• Title: Solyaris
• Year: 1972
• Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
• Genre: (Sorry Tarkovsky) Sci Fi
• Rating: 9/10

Well, this film is about a man who is about to go on an a mission centered to examine and find out information on the planet Solyaris. Before leaving, another man, one who was apart of the mission explains how he sighted something very outrageous, it appears he had to have been very delusional, Kris Kelvin arrives unwelcomed onboard, he begins to notice "visitors" onboard the spacecraft.

One might ask how this film (or any) could be compared to the great "2001: A Space Odyssey", well put in the simplest way I know how, they connect to one-another because they both explore human exploration of space, and how they try to deal with the possibility of life outside of Earth. Both are very distinct and original in every single dynamic. Each have their superior aspects (2001, having more, I think), Solyaris explores Human emotion and conscience more, whereas 2001 seems to deal more with Human curiosity, evolution and well "Other life".

For those who have not seen "2001: A Space Odyssey" or Tarkovsky's other film, this is certainly not a typical "Sci Fi" film, I hate labeling it a "Sci Fi movie", because as Tarkovsky has stated, he considers it his worst film, and has failed to exceed the limits of a genre, as the likes of "Stalker" did. This film is reasonably long, and I can definitely see people calling this a boring and slow film, because it does have some long scenes, it's not filled with dialogue and action either. It is slow paced (though it didn't feel slow to me, really), it's strange, and there is a lot which is "more than meets the eye", this doesn't just have a great plot, but it succeeds in every aspect, like in "Stalker" it contains some amazing cinematography (which was one of the few things I liked about "Stalker") and some very beautiful scenes, especially that of Solyaris. I think I alone say this but I compare the first 40 [or so] minutes of Solyaris to the first 30 [or so] minutes of the Godfather, it is slow, it isn't all that interesting, but in every single way it is very necessary, it is very important to the conclusion of the film.

To wrap up another short review, I'd recommend those who have seen either Tarkovsky's films to watch this, and if from what you have read have been interested, the very least you can do is check out a trailer for the film and see if it makes you wish to see the film. It's a great film.