Solaris
A Soviet psychologist sent to a failing space station confronts an alien intelligence that materializes the deepest wounds of human memory.
Overview
A journey into the depths of the human psyche and the unknown.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Glacial
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Mild
- haunting
- meditative
- melancholic
- late night reflection
- arthouse film night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Solaris as a haunting, meditative, philosophically ambitious science fiction film that uses an alien mystery to examine humanity and existence.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The alien ocean and its manifestations force Kris Kelvin to confront questions of reality, self-knowledge, and what makes a person human.
The run-down Solaris station confines Kelvin with the secretive Snaut and Sartorius while the alien phenomena intensify his isolation.
Kelvin encounters a physical manifestation of his deceased wife Hari, making mourning inseparable from questions of personhood and responsibility.
The intelligence associated with Solaris generates baffling figures from the scientists' subconscious and leaves their meaning uncertain.
Films like Solaris, and why
2001: A Space Odyssey
meditative science fiction, existential mystery, and psychologically unsettling encounters with an unknowable intelligence
The Arrival of a Train at the Station
slow-burn cosmic mystery, philosophical questions about reality, and emotionally disorienting science fiction
Another Earth
intimate grief-driven speculative drama in which an extraterrestrial premise probes memory, identity, and human connection
Event Horizon
haunting space-station atmosphere, surreal manifestations, and metaphysical science fiction centered on guilt and consciousness
Movie Details
- Director
- Andrei Tarkovsky
- Release Date
- 1972-03-20
- Runtime
- 167 min
- Rating
- 7.8 / 10 (1910)
Cast
- Natalya Bondarchuk
- Donatas Banionis
- Jüri Järvet
- Vladislav Dvorzhetsky
- Mykola Hrynko
- Anatoliy Solonitsyn
- Olga Barnet
- Vitalik Kerdimun
- Olga Kizilova
- Tatyana Malykh
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Solaris about?
- A Soviet psychologist sent to a failing space station confronts an alien intelligence that materializes the deepest wounds of human memory.
- What is Solaris like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Solaris as glacial, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is Solaris violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Solaris as mild.
- What did critics think of Solaris?
- Critics broadly regard Solaris as a haunting, meditative, philosophically ambitious science fiction film that uses an alien mystery to examine humanity and existence.
- Which films are like Solaris?
- Films with a similar feel include 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Arrival of a Train at the Station, Another Earth, and Event Horizon.
- How long is Solaris?
- Solaris runs 167 minutes.
- Where can I watch Solaris?
- In United States, Solaris streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max.
