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
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.
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.
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.
Ponderous...dismally realized and offers no answers to the puzzle presented.
It's an unusual challenge for a Hollywood film with a major star, but worth the effort.
What grounds Soderbergh's film -- and distinguishes it from Tarkovsky's more mystical take -- is the sensuality that exists alongside the anguish in Kelvin and Rheya's love story.
A return to what sci-fi was meant to be: Not a way to titillate teenage boys, but a means of finding a context for complex human issues.
An absorbing, challenging, mostly well-acted change-of-pace space thriller.
A surprisingly dull adaptation of the classic 1961 science-fiction novel by Stanislaw Lem.
This bit of pseudoscience has been made appropriately enigmatic by Soderbergh and company.
A mysterious and powerful movie, much like the strange planet at the far reaches of the universe for which it is named.
Soderbergh's film is the perfect blend of artiness and mainstream appeal, a triumph for Hollywood's most successful art-house director.
Solaris is neither as effective nor as ambitious as Kubrick's masterpiece, but it's still a compelling cinematic experience for those who are willing to abandon themselves to the unforced, measured rhythms of an issues-based motion picture.
Abstract and otherworldly to a vivid, palpable degree, Solaris is a movie of manifold cerebral and emotional context that cannot be easily summarized in print.
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.
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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