Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageSolaris (1972)
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Movie review
From Time Out London
Both engrossing and alienating, 'Solaris' was Tarkovsky's response to Kubrick's slightly earlier '2001: A Space Odyssey'. The Russian director took issue with what he saw as Kubrick's fetishising of new technology: 'Kubrick is intoxicated with all this and he forgets about man, about his moral problems,' he declared. As such, Tarkovsky's mystical and powerful film sees cosmonaut Kris Kelvin (Donatas Banionis) travel to a troubled (and breathtakingly-designed) space station that hovers above the planet Solaris. Once there, he is forced to deal with the recent suicide of his wife Hari (Natalya Bondarchuk), who is mysteriously resurrected by the strange force of the nearby planet. Tarkovsky mixes sci-fi ephemera with solid human enquiry. The camerawork alone is wondrous. Shame, then, that the film's climax has all the rigour of 'Planet of the Apes'. Still, it's a smart response to the superficial excesses of the sci-fi genre.Author: DC
Time Out London Issue 1800: February 16-23 2005
Cast & crew
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Cast: Donatas Banionis, Natalya Bondarchuk, Yuri Jarvet, Anatoli Solonitsin, Vladislav Dvorjetzki full cast
Genre(s): Science Fiction
Rated: PG
Duration: 165 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now