Solaris (1972)

VHS CASE/ SIDE

Length of film: 167 Minutes

Rated: PG

Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama, Mystery

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky

Starring: Natalya Bondarchuk, Donatas Banionis, Jüri Järvet, Vladislav Dvorzhetskiy, Nikolay Grinko, Anatoliy Solonitsyn

IMDB Rank: 7.9 /10

Part 1 Time: 79 Minutes

Part 2 Time: 88 Minutes

Where does the first part end? Kris Kelvin (Dontatas Banionis) is in shock to see a real life replica of his deceased wife Hari (Natalya Bondarchuk) sitting in his sleeping quarters.

Final line of dialogue on the first part: Khari asks Kris “What are you staring at?”

First line of dialogue on the second part: “Get in,” Kris Kelvin tells Hari as they circle a space pod.

How jarring is it when the first part ends? Jarring, since arriving at the Solaris space station Kris Kelvin has seen fleeting glimpses of others aboard who are not part of the original crew. With Kris Kelvin now seeing his deceased wife Hari is he now beginning to lose his sanity?

Which part is better? The film is very slow moving, but is thought provoking. What if intelligent life could manifest into a human’s consensus and take the form of people important to us. Part two is slightly better as Kris Kelvin struggles to convince Dr. Snaut (Jüri Järvet) and Dr. Sartorius (Anatoly Solonitsyn) of Hari’s humanity, which ultimately results in a unexpected twist.

Academy Awards: None

Other Awards: 1972 Palme d’Or (Nominated)