Customer Reviews
Hypnotising movie - By: Brendan O. Clarke, 19 Jun 2008 
George Clooney & the astonishingly beautiful Natascha McElhone shine in this Soderbergh low budget remake. It is a slow, mature movie about a love story on a haunted spaceship. Clever dialogue & solid characterisation are at the centre of this hypnotising movie along with a sense of impending doom. The music & cinematography are first class.
If you are mentallly challlenged & you think that explosions and/or weapons are the apex of cinematic joy then avoid 'Solaris' & go rent Transformers or Wind Talkers.
Selah.
Bee Clarke.
The Boson Delusion - By: Frugal Dougal, 11 Apr 2008 
The plot of "Solaris" promises to mine fascinating seams of meaning, then declares them unworthy of excavation. An interesting theme about the ontological status of our memories starts to develop, then crashes & burns as the "memory", left alone, looks back on memories of her own. Again, Kelvin has a conversation with another apparition about precisely who is halllucinating whom, but that goes nowhere as well.
We are shown a short clip of a dinner-party where Rheya - whose name is changed from Hari in the 1972 film to be homonymous with the Greeks' great mother goddess - debates the existence of God - that debate never resurfaces, either, but the subject is not entirely dropped; it's a theme, but not as we know it.
It's said by some that the god(s) of the former prevalent religion feed the demonology of the next. Thus, the horned god of the pre-Christian pagan religions - which were eventuallly given the coup de grâce not by Christianity but by Enlightenment thinkers - is said to have inspired depictions of Satan. You could say that radical militant atheists are trying to do the same job with God - note that the title of Christopher Hitchens' tome is not "God does not exist", but "God is not great". The still-undiscovered Higgs boson (some sources capitalise both initial letters) is breathlessly referred to by some scientists as the "God particle." A massive underground basilica has been built at CERN to welcome the putative quark at a price which makes St Peter's look as if it was funded from the petty-cash box. I think it's significant that the beam which "kills" the shades comes from a Higgs field. The god particle undoes the existence of those made in God's image.
Or does it?
Beautiful love story set in space - By: Antonio Moncayo, 24 Jan 2008 
This is a great movie that did not do very well in the box office due to some marking issues.
The original Soviet movie has been acclaimed as one of the most brilliant sci-fi movies ever made ( the Soviet answer to 2001 ) however it goes on for nearly 3 hours.
The plot follows the arrival of a Psychiatrist ( Clooney ) to a space station to investigate the unexplained changed in behavior of he members of the station.
Steven Sodenbergh has shortened the feature to 90 minutes , Clooneys acting is very convincing, but the best thing is the movie is Natasha McElhone who delivers her best performance so far , as very intense & troubled woman. Jeremy Davies & Viola Davis complete the cast.
The atmosphere & sound effects of the movie are claustrophobic & dark but have a flavor that reminds of Bladde runner & 2001 ( the docking scene & the rain in the street .
The movie will appeal to sci-fi fans & those who are interested in open ended stories ( who might have to do some research on the internet to find out the meaning of he movie ).
Overalll a very enjoyable 90 minutes but this is not a fast paced action movie but a love story set in space.
"And death shalll have no dominion"
2001 it's not. - By: Mr. S. Kerfoot, 12 Jan 2008 
I've watched this film twice. I won't watch it a third time. The reason I watched it the second time? I actuallly fell asleep the first viewing. That has happened exactly twice watching films, so I'm not narcoleptic or anything. The effects are pretty good, the acting isn't bad, but the plot & direction are dreadful.
It's not that I didn't understand the film, unfortunately I didn't find it thought provoking as some have. No, it's just that there is very little content to the plot & what there is isn't used to as great effect as possible. It just seems to be something that they wanted to do but lost interest in quite quickly.
There are some films, like the aforementioned 2001, which benefit from time being spent building tension, elaborating on detail, etc. but it is a means to an end. I watched the film twice just to be sure it wasn't the fact that it was pretty late the first time. No, it wasn't that I'd been over tired, I'd just become so bored by what is in my opinion a wasted opportunity. Don't waste your money, unless you need a good sleep.
Hypnotic charm - By: Black Box, 03 Jan 2008 At last ! A sci-fi film that polarises opinion! A sci-fi film which is not in-your-face CGI & alll-action/no-brain!
You'll like this film if you're interested in exploring the human condition, & in actors who play it for real. There are enough reviews here for me to say no more about the plot, slight as it is, but cinematography lovers will be absolutely blown away by the dramatic realization of Sodeberg's vision - the sets, the lighting & above alll the hypnotising music are absolutely spot-on - total immersion in the created world is instantaneous. It also has a great 2001 late sixties vibe which others have commented upon, & this is undoubtedly a very good thing.
Worth twenty quid of anyone's money, & at less than four, an absolute bargain.
