Solaris (2002)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writers (WGA):

Stanislaw Lem (novel)
Steven Soderbergh (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 November 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

There are some places man is not ready to go

Plot:

A troubled psychologist is sent to investigate the crew of an isolated research station orbiting a bizarre planet.

Plot Keywords:

Planet | Space Station | Dead Wife | Memories | Spacesuit

Awards:

1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

George Clooney	...	Chris Kelvin
Natascha McElhone	...	Rheya
Viola Davis	...	Gordon
Jeremy Davies	...	Snow
Ulrich Tukur	...	Gibarian
John Cho	...	DBA Emissary #1
Morgan Rusler	...	DBA Emissary #2
Shane Skelton	...	Gibarian's Son
Donna Kimball	...	Mrs. Gibarian
Michael Ensign	...	Friend #1
Elpidia Carrillo	...	Friend #2
Kent Faulcon	...	Patient #1 (as Kent D. Faulcon)
Lauren Cohn	...	Patient #2 (as Lauren M. Cohn)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 on appeal for sexuality/nudity, brief language and thematic elements.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

Brazil:14 | USA:R (original rating) | Finland:K-11 | Portugal:M/12 (DVD rating) | Iceland:12 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) (2007) | Singapore:NC-16 (theatrical release) (cut) | Singapore:PG (cut) (video rating) (2003) | Netherlands:12 | South Africa:13LS | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PG | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Ireland:15 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Philippines:R-18 | South Korea:12 | South Korea:15 (special edition) | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (re-rating on appeal)

Filming Locations:

7th & Hope Streets, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

There is a sign on Athena's engines stating "Dals Ed Mitt i naturen" Dals Ed is a small town in western Sweden close to the Norwegian border. The artist put it there because "Athena must have passed Dalsland sometime".

Goofs:

Anachronisms: George Clooney is shown traveling in a sleek slightly futuristic rapid transit train but the rear projection/blue screen out the window clearly shows the current day "Merchandise Mart" station of the Chicago CTA Subway. Also during his journey the train he passes going the opposite direction is a present day subway train.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Chris's memories, in voiceover]
Rheya Kelvin: Chris, what is it? I love you so much. Don't you love me anymore?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Gilmore Girls: You've Been Gilmored (#6.14)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Riddle Box

One man's search for meaning.

What does it mean to be? Is the sense of individuated existence, that sense of being an "I" over and against and within a universe of things and processes that are not "I" real or is it an illusion? In both versions of the film Solaris this subject is explored.

Solaris is not a discussion upon the classic What Is Reality inquiry, but instead does a wonderful job of examining the question of what does it mean to be ourselves, and what is it about ourselves that is unique or even real? The planet Solaris becomes an artistic representation of the true Unknown, and the unknown is that state in which we all exist in, but in which we create forms of meaning to encapsulate the mystery of this moment within the illusion of the Known.

Solaris presents through its actions and its very existence a format for the characters, and the viewers, to examine what it means to live safely within the illusion of the Known, but where the reality is actually an existence in which the Known is not a possibility.

Do not approach this film with the intention of understanding some final conclusion, for like life itself, it is the writers intention that we question our assumptions about this movie, and possibly about our own lives as well.