Solaris

Solaris [Solyaris] (Criterion #164). 1972 Mosfilm & Janus Films.
Starring: Natalya Bondarchuk, Donatas Banionis, Juri Jarvet, Vladislav Dvorzhetsky, Nikolai Grinko, Anotoly Solonitsyn
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Buy Solaris at Amazon, and skip the 2002 remake.

We go to the former Soviet Union for this Tarkovsky film adaption of a novel by Polish novelist Stanisław Lem.

Psychologist Kris Kelvin (Banionis) opens the film walking around the land surrounding his father's house, one day before he is to depart for a space station orbiting a distant, liquid-covered planet called Solaris. The scientific mission there has made little progress after a few decades studying the planet, and things have reached crisis mode. Kelvin is being sent to evaluate things and ultimately determine the future of the outpost. A former pilot named Burton (Dvorzhetsky) is also visiting, and they both watch televised hearings from years before, where Burton testified he saw an enormous child on the surface of Solaris while looking for two missing scientists. The rescue craft's cameras only recorded clouds and a calm water surface, so Burton's claim was dismissed as a hallucination. Kelvin also doesn't believe it, and an angered Burton leaves, but calls back soon, reporting that he had met the child of one of the scientists, and except for its size, it was the same one he saw on Solaris.

Before leaving, Kelvin burns most of his old papers in a bonfire. While talking to his father, the viewer learns that they both know that Dad won't live to see Kris return from Solaris, which was the son's choice. It still weighs heavily on Kris, along with the other betrayals he apparently has committed.

After arriving at the space station, Kelvin is not met by the remaining scientists, and the station itself is in seriously bad shape. He finds that one scientists, Dr. Gibarian, died mysteriously, and the other two aren't helpful at all. Kelvin is advised by Dr. Snaut (Jarvet) not to overreact if he sees anything unusual, and after that, he begins to catch glimpses of other people on the station, prompting him to launch his investigation.

After a long sleep, Kelvin finds a woman in his quarters, and it's his wife Hari (Bondarchuk), who killed herself a long time ago after a horrible argument that ended with Kris leaving her. Hari, created by Solaris, is unaware of her suicide. Kelvin realizes she isn't real, and lures her into his spacecraft, launching her into space, but burning himself in the rocket blast in the process. Dr. Snaut tends his wounds, and opens up more now that Kelvin is sharing their experiences, explaining that the "visitors" started appearing after the crew attracted the planet's attention with their first surveys.

Kelvin spends most of the rest of the film with another manifestation of Hari, while the other scientists grapple with what they're doing to do about Solaris and its disturbing apparitions. He also must decide on whether to return back to Earth, or stay on Solaris trying to reconnect with everyone he has ever loved and lost.

This is definitely an interesting film, beautifully photographed, and containing a very interesting plot, especially with a seemingly sentient planet wreaking havoc with the emotions of the scientists with its projected hallucinations. Recommended, although a bit slow at times.