Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris holds an entirely different pace, tone, story and set of shots compared to any other film I’ve seen. It has such a focus on letting things play out at the slow pace that life takes. It’s also very focused on asking questions about self and what makes one a person. Philosophy of humanity and “mind” is one of the strongest themes played throughout the film as stated by others such as Vladimir Tumanov. Tarkovsky plays with the idea of “personhood” mainly with the character Hari, who is Kelvin’s (the main character), wife who has been dead for 10 years.
Pace
Throughout the film Tarkovsky is not afraid to take his time with each and every shot he takes in the film. This is shown time and time again, even starting with his opening scene being a stream with ponds reeds flowing with the water. With this opening I automatically knew that the film was going to be taking a relaxed but consistent pace with its plot along with its scenes. He continues this by stretch scenes out for minutes that normally would be around twenty seconds in other films. His pacing really shows that his focus is not on the plot but rather on the message that he is trying to convey, as Roger Ebert further explains in a review about another one of Tarkovsky’s films “one of the things I think he’s trying to do is make his films so long that we lose touch with the person we were when we came into the theater in a way that we become entirely into his universe and he completely absorbs us with these images, including the down time, including the boring time so that by the end hes got us reduced to the point where he can give us the message he’s trying to give us.” I agree with Ebert’s idea because for Tarkovsky’s true meaning to shine through you have to be sucked into the film and the world that he’s created for the furthest understanding of his ideas.
Philosophy
Tarkovsky’s Solaris would not be the wonderful work or art that it is without it’s questions of self and humanity. The themes of mind and moral are of the strongest in terms of philosophical topics. When talking about the different options with Solaris and the research that’s gone into Kelvin suggests radiating the ocean that covers Solaris to discover what the ocean is and in response Burton says, “knowledge is only valid when it’s based on morality.” to which Kelvin cleverly says “man is the one who renders science moral or immoral. Remember Hiroshima” making it very clear that the idea or morality is not simply black or white but what we as a people say it is to make horrible acts, acts of knowledge. Along with these ideas Tarkovsky also plays at pieces of the humanity such as happiness, and love when Kelvin states, “To ask is always to desire to know. Yet the preservation of simple human truths requires mystery. The mysteries of happiness, death and love. To think about it is to know the day of one’s death. Not knowing that day makes us practically immortal.” Tarkovsky is right in that as soon as you start to dissect what happiness and love is on the smallest scale it losing its meaning.
Tarkovsky’s Solaris will always be something that people come back to again and again because it has a way of making you question your life and the decisions that you’ve made in it. Without a doubt this is an important piece in film history as it reflects an entirely different style that holds its own.
Hello Bailey,
It is amazing that from the opening scenes of the movie, you were able to determine the pace of the plot, and experience the beginning impressions of what the director is trying to convey. I agree that Tarkovsky’s opinion about the “preservation of simple human truths”, has some truth in it. If you attempt to discuss what love is, then you are heading down a road without an end. Your special attention to the details of the scenes as they were filmed provides the reader with an exceptional mental image of the movie, which I would profit from exercising in my own writing.
Hello Bailey,
I also picked this film to watch and upon reading your review, I was able to think about it a different way. The Hiroshima quote you mentioned above didn’t really stick with me during the movie, but after re-reading the dialogue, I’m able to see that message you were. talking about with mortality. I like how you organized your essay and I hope to try something similar with mine next time!
Hi Bailey,
Like you, I reviewed “Solaris” and was blown away by what a completely unique film it was. It’s interesting to learn of how much more you were drawn in by the philosophy of the film, as I was focused entirely on the experience side of it instead. Your appreciation for Tarkovsky’s moral appeals is admirable, and something I probably should have included in my review, and in any of my future works.
Bailey,
From your blog I learned that pace can be deliberately slow to portray the message better, making the viewer immerse them self in the experience. What an interesting perspective of film-style. I really admire how much you paid attention to the intention of the film shots. I will use this thought process with my future movie assignments.
I agree with you that questions of self and humanity create wonderful works of art. The reflective and existential points of view are really intriguing and thought provoking.