Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Novel by Stanislaw Lem
Screenplay by Steven Soderbergh

George Clooney .... Chris Kelvin
Natascha McElhone .... Rheya Kelvin
Jeremy Davies .... Snow
Viola Davis .... Helen Gordon
Ulrich Tukur .... Gibarian
Morgan Rusler .... Berton
rest of cast listed alphabetically
Ann Morgan .... Nurse

Produced by
Charles V. Bender .... co-producer
James Cameron .... producer
Gregory Jacobs .... executive producer
Jon Landau .... producer
Michael Polaire .... co-producer
Rae Sanchini .... producer

Original Music by Cliff Martinez

Cinematography by Steven Soderbergh (as Peter Andrews)

Film Editing by Steven Soderbergh

MPAA: Rated PG-13 on appeal for sexuality/nudity, brief language and thematic
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM, and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG

Solaris
by Stanislaw Lem,
Joanna Kilmartin (Translator), Steven Cox (Translator)

Book Description
Who's testing whom? When Kris Kelvin arrives at the planet Solaris to study the ocean that covers its surface, he is forced to confront a painful, hitherto unconscious memory embodied in the living physical likeness of a long-dead lover. Others examining the planet, Kelvin learns, are plagued with their own repressed and newly corporeal memories. Scientists speculate that the Solaris ocean may be a massive brain that creates these incarnate memories, its purpose in doing so unknown.

The first of Lem's novels to be published in America and now considered a classic, SOLARIS raises a question: Can we truly understand the universe around us without first understanding what lies within?

About the Author
Stanislaw Lem, a Polish author, is the best known and most widely translated science fiction writer outside the English-speaking world. His nearly thirty books have been translated into thirty-six languages and have sold twenty million copies worldwide. Lem's other works include The Cyberiad, The Futurological Congress, Peace on Earth, Mortal Engines, and Tales of Pirx the Pilot, all available in English-language translations from Harvest.

Steven Soderbergh, whose eclectic resume includes the Academy Award ®-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 communiqué 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?

Solaris is an intelligent, thought-provoking, beautifully shot exploration of philosophical and spiritual ideas and issues, such as personhood, the afterlife, memory, existentialism and the nature of reality. What makes a person? Is it atoms, matter, or the soul? What is a soul? Is it just a part of our conscience, our brain, our heart? Does it exist after our physical body dies? And what happens when we die? Is there a heaven, a hell? These are some of the questions you may have after seeing Steven Soderbergh's latest film, starring George Clooney as psychiatrist Chris Kelvin.

Kelvin journeys to a space station close to the planet Solaris when he receives a cry for help from his good friend, scientist Gibarian (Ulrich Tukur). When Kelvin gets there, however, all but two of the crew are dead, including Gibarian, who committed suicide. The remaining crewmembers are scientist Snow, an annoying version of Dennis Hopper's character in "Apocalypse Now," and Gordon, a doctor who refuses to leave her room, or let anyone in. When Kelvin talks with her it's through a barely opened door. When he asks why everyone is dead she says he'll know when "it" starts happening to him.

Kelvin discovers what "it" is when his dead wife visits him that night. Or is she dead? She is physically present, real to the touch. But she has no memory of her life on earth, only that she loves Kelvin. In Vanilla Sky many of the moments and characters in Tom Cruise's dreamlike state were memories of love, literature, ideals, and in Solaris we wonder if Rheya isn't a similar concept, based on Kelvin's ideals, and memories of her. Or, perhaps it is Rheya's soul that is visiting Kelvin. But as humans, are we predetermined by other's views, or memories of us? Do we have free will, or are our lives predestined by a higher power, perhaps God?

Soderbergh uses flashbacks to reveal bits of Chris and Rheya's relationship. The flashbacks reminded me of the flash forwards in Out of Sight, with Clooney and Jennifer Lopez. The mood is similar-low lighting creating a subdued, warm atmosphere, a stark contrast to the tight, tense atmosphere of the spacecraft. The flashbacks capture the mystery and excitement of a budding relationship. But without giving too much of the plot away, these past moments take an unexpected turn, which is captured first in subtle looks and a gradual change in camera work. And it is the memory of their relationship on earth that creates an interesting dynamic to their relationship in space.

Richard Roeper was so right when he said that Solaris is the type of film that you have to discuss after seeing it. It brings up so many spiritual and philosophical ideas and questions. And what I love about it is, it leaves so many questions unanswered. I found the ending ambiguous and mysterious. Not a lot is explained about the planet Solaris, and I'm not sure the planet itself is incredibly important, perhaps it is a metaphor for something else, or maybe it's just a catalyst for the more important themes in the film.

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