Scripted, shot, directed and edited by Soderbergh with his customary intelligence and assurance, this is perhaps the most ambiguous and cerebrally sophisticated Hollywood movie in nearly three decades.
Solaris (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:195
Fresh:126
Rotten:69
Average Rating:6.5/10
Consensus: Slow-moving, cerebral, and ambiguous, Solaris is not a movie for everyone, but it offers intriguing issues to ponder.
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Synopsis: Steven Soderbergh, whose eclectic resume includes the Academy Award(R)-winning drama "Traffic" as well as last year's ensemble caper "Ocean's Eleven," now brings his unique vision to SOLARIS, a... Steven Soderbergh, whose eclectic resume includes the Academy Award(R)-winning drama "Traffic" as well as last year's ensemble caper "Ocean's Eleven," now brings his unique vision to SOLARIS, a story of love, redemption, second chances and a space mission gone terribly wrong. SOLARIS is a love story rich with emotion and mystery, set within a science fiction framework. The story, which takes place sometime in the future, opens as Dr. Chris Kelvin is asked to investigate the unexplained behavior of a small group of scientists aboard the space station Prometheus, who have cut off all communication with Earth. Kelvin undertakes the journey after watching a communique from his close friend Gibarian, the mission's commander, who seeks Kelvin's help aboard the Prometheus for reasons Gibarian is unwilling - or unable - to explain. Keenly aware that his opinion will decide the fate of the orbital station, Kelvin is shocked by what he finds upon his arrival: Gibarian has committed suicide and the two remaining scientists are exhibiting signs of extreme stress and paranoia, seemingly caused by the results of their examination of the planet Solaris. Kelvin, too, becomes entrapped in the unique world's mysteries. Solaris, somehow, presents him with a second chance at love - to change the course of a past relationship that has caused him overwhelming guilt and remorse. But can he really revisit and alter the past? Or is he fated to repeat its mistakes? -- © 20th Century Fox [More]
Starring: George Clooney, Natascha McElhone, Jeremy Davies, Viola Davis
Starring: George Clooney, Natascha McElhone, Jeremy Davies, Viola Davis, Ulrich Tukur
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Screenwriter: Steven Soderbergh
Producer: James Cameron, Rae Sanchini
Composer: Cliff Martinez
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Reviews for Solaris
It has the courage to wonder about big questions with sincerity and devotion. It risks seeming slow and pretentious, because it thinks the gamble is worth the promise.
Thoughtful, moving, impressively-directed sci-fi with a great performance by Clooney -- the pace may be off-putting but this is a deeply rewarding film.
With audacity and style, Steven Soderbergh has revisited one of Russian cinema's landmarks, and done so very successfully.
Clooney handles himself very well in a rare dramatic role; he draws us into Kelvin's obsessive mind nicely, although he's perhaps not quite up to the challenge of taking us over the brink.
I prefer Soderbergh's concentration on his two lovers over Tarkovsky's mostly male, mostly patriarchal debating societies.
Finely crafted and executed, this is one of those rare movies that will get you talking after it's over.
In a move as audacious as it is disastrous, Steve Soderbergh has decided to push the edges of what filmmaking can be and created in Solaris not so much a motion picture as a still life.
If you're going to make a 'thinking man's' film that alienates the public at large, then at least have the foresight to avoid amateurish dialogue delivered by feeble performances.
Many will justifiably find [it] a heady experience akin to 90 minutes of watching paint dry. Others will see that paint forming something close to a masterpiece.
...there you are, keenly aware that if you were intellectual enough, this would be seriously exciting entertainment. But since something in your artistic-merit decoder isn't functioning properly, you’re checking your watch
No film this acutely self-aware has fallen victim to unjust contempt so widespread since Last Action Hero.
As written by director Steven Soderbergh, Solaris comes across as one of those movies filled with cryptic dialogue that skirts around the story, forcing viewers to use their imaginations to fill in the blanks.
There’s no emotional pulse to Solaris. With an emotional sterility to match its outer space setting, Soderbergh's spectacular swing for the fence yields only a spectacular whiff.
Always a probing, intuitive filmmaker, Soderbergh, after some floundering attempts in the past, finally gets one of his cinematic experiments right.
If George Clooney gives the best performance of his career here, he is probably still too facile for the material, his good looks and now instinctive charisma rubbing against the grain of an emotionally devastated character.
Latest News for Solaris
July 20, 2007:
Catalina Sandina Morena Joins Soderbergh's Che Films
Did you know that Steven Soderbergh was making a movie about Che Guevara? Starring Benicio Del Toro in the title role? Yeah, me too. But somehow I missed the news that he was... More...
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