Solaris

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Heather D An excellent Cerebral, mind bending film that still holds up 23 years later better than most sci-fi films of today. Don’t pay attention to the negative reviews. Those are the same people that complain that their ice cream is cold. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/20/25 Full Review Mikona K I read the book in its original Polish, so my interpretation is not shaped by the flawed French-based translation that has influenced many foreign editions. The book moved me deeply. The film adaptation, as is almost always the case, left me disappointed. The film is a visually polished, intimate story that, in my view, completely diverges from the essence of Stanisław Lem’s novel. Instead of philosophical depth, we are given a tale of love and loss that, while emotionally moving, oversimplifies the meaning of the original work. The film lacks not only the development of the ocean’s role but, more importantly, its function as a symbol of the limits of knowledge and true otherness. For me, the film’s ending is a story about how people prefer to live within their own projections. They would rather weave an illusion of closeness than confront solitude and their own shadow. Kelvin, is a psychiatrist, yet he fails to see that the woman he loves struggled with serious emotional issues. He did not see her as she truly was, because he fell in love not with her, but with the image he had constructed. And when Solaris gave him that image once more, he surrendered to the illusion instead of confronting himself. Instead of facing reality, he chose escape. He chose the projection because it aligned with his emotions and did not force him to take responsibility. And yet, he had the tools to see more. As a psychiatrist, he should have understood the mechanisms that guided not only her, but also himself. He did not. He remained blind to himself. What is most lacking in this adaptation is the presence and meaning of the ocean. In the book, it is something radically alien, impossible to reduce to human language or thought. In the film, it becomes a backdrop, a narrative device for creating emotional drama. The entire dimension of questioning the possibility of contact with another form of existence that doesn’t fit into any human category is lost. Lem wrote that we are not looking for other worlds, we are looking for mirrors. And that is exactly what I see in the film’s ending. Kelvin does not want to see another person as they truly were. He wants to see himself in their eyes. And that is why he remains on Solaris, where the ocean gives him not the truth, but his own illusion. The ending is painful because it is true. But not because it says something about love. It is painful because it shows how deeply we are imprisoned by our own expectations and memories. How little we understand of reality beyond ourselves. How difficult it is to see the other not as a mirror, but as a being that exists independently of our projections. And that is the most important thing missing from the film. True 'otherness'. The alien that cannot be grasped by reason, the ocean that does not speak, does not respond, does not offer comfort. But it exists, and it demands humility. In a broader context, Solaris reveals our human tendency to claim the right to comprehend and dominate a reality that we understand only in fragments. We think we are ready to encounter alien life forms, sentient beings that may surpass our understanding of consciousness and existence. Yet we are unable even to understand the beings we share Earth with. We do not learn their language, we do not listen to their silence, we do not perceive them as someone, but as something. We treat them like products, not subjects. We do not know non-human animals, even though we have lived alongside them for thousands of years. We make no effort to see them as they truly are. And yet we dream of discovering other worlds. We want contact with alien civilizations, not because of their otherness, but so that in their eyes we might see confirmation of our own uniqueness. Solaris, as a living, conscious matter, does not give us what we want. It does not respond. It does not resemble us. It is radically other. And for that reason, it presents the greatest challenge, not only scientific but spiritual. Can we give up the illusion of control and accept that not everything must be known, named, and absorbed by the human measure? Are we capable of humility in the face of the other, who does not ask to be understood? Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/15/25 Full Review Dan D This was okay, but I have no idea what it was about. How to deal with lose of a love one...maybe? And that you never really do... Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/11/25 Full Review Jess J I wanted this to be better than it is. Interesting concept, trippy visuals, but I just couldn’t root for the protagonist at all, and that made it lose tension. I wish more time has been spent on the Mysterious Entity and less time had been spent on a relationship failure that was clearly the main character’s fault. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/11/24 Full Review Andy 4 Excellent movie, great visuals/acting. I think Lonenz l must just hate Americans/america. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/15/24 Full Review Simone C Not very easy to follow but it's a beautiful love story. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/21/24 Full Review Read all reviews

Solaris

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