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Solaris (1972)

Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2024 8:16 pm
by GORDON
Russian Soviet sci-fi flick about a proud Soviet Space Station that needed no western rock and roll music, or decadent right angles, orbiting a planet that has an ocean for a brain. It starts reading the minds of the comrade scientists aboard the station, manifesting their dreams, driving them mad.

Couple things.

1. I feel like the filmmaker watched 1969's 2001: A Space Odyssey, inspiring this film.

2. Because the pacing is sometimes terribly, horrendously slow. There's a 5 minute sequence of a character driving Tokyo highways, for some reason, rubbing his temples. For one example. It like the director wanted to mimic the slow pacing of Kubrick's movie, but didn't know the reason why.

3. This film won the big award at Cannes, that year. I suspect it's because the KGB, at the height of their power, threatened the people running the festival. I'm not kidding. I really think this.

4. I don't think there's a smile in this entire movie. Not even in the flashbacks. People even look deathly grim in wedding photos. It's very Soviet.

Anyway, it is award-winning. Give it a shot if you can. It's currently on Max.

And yes, my film nerd kid wanted to watch it.

Solaris (1972)

Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2024 8:37 pm
by TheCatt
So, your review is kinda unintentionally funny.
The film was Tarkovsky's attempt to bring greater emotional depth to science fiction films; he viewed most Western works in the genre, including 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), as shallow due to their focus on technological invention.
Also, it won an award at Cannes, but not the big one (Palme d'Or).

Solaris (1972)

Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2024 9:08 pm
by GORDON
I honestly saw the influence.

I thought it was the big award.

Solaris (1972)

Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2024 10:35 pm
by GORDON
TheCatt wrote: Sun Aug 11, 2024 8:37 pm So, your review is kinda unintentionally funny.
The film was Tarkovsky's attempt to bring greater emotional depth to science fiction films; he viewed most Western works in the genre, including 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), as shallow due to their focus on technological invention.
Also, it won an award at Cannes, but not the big one (Palme d'Or).
I think Tarkovsky's "there isn't any emotion in 2001" proves my point that he didn't understand what he was mimicking.

The point of 2001 is that the humans were emotionless, but the computer wasn't. That was done on purpose. Tarkovsky missed the point.

Which I inferred from watching the movie he made directly after. DAMN I'm impressive.