Solaris

Psychologist Kris Kelvin (Lithuanian actor Donatas Banionis) sets off into outer space to investigate unsettling reports on the mental health of the crew of the station on an unknown, ocean-covered planet called Solaris. On arrival, while exploring the almost deserted base whose only inhabitants seem to be two withdrawn and deeply disturbed crew members, he runs into his dead wife (superb Natalya Bondarchuk). When his initial euphoria and intoxication subside, Kelvin starts to realise the danger and to grasp the true nature of the phenomenon that has materialised before him in the form of his wife. What is the secret of the ocean? How does it affect the minds of the humans aboard the station?

Solaris is one of Andrei Tarkovsky’s most acclaimed films and one of the most intriguing sci-fi pictures, mentioned alongside Stanley Kubrick’s Space Odyssey 2001 as an example of using the genre of science fiction to make a philosophical artistic statement. Tarkovsky’s film is a masterful adaptation of the book by Stanisław Lem, who, however, was not satisfied with the production. The film won the Grand Prix at Cannes and a FIPRESCI special mention.
Tomasz Kolankiewicz

This screening will be presented together with The Night of the Living Dead by George A. Romero.

• Original title — Solyaris
• Director — Andrei Tarkovsky
• Writers — Andrei Tarkovsky and Friedrich Gorenstein, based on Stanisław Lem’s novel Solaris
• Genre —science-fiction drama
• Production — USSR
• Year of production — 1972