The film talks about virtual relationships. The film questions our reality.Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, parallel universes, aliens, and paranomal abilities. This film deals with the imagination of the protagonist, Kris, which when combined with the supernatural element of Solaris encounters the mysterious phenomenon of Solaris, wherein his dead wife’s form returns. Due to this, the film qualifies as a science fiction despite the absence of a fast narrative pace and special effects, which is generally prevalent in commercial cinema. Thus, its storyline qualifies it as science fiction, even though it has the fluidity of slow-paced, philosophical poetry.
There are a couple of notable instances of cinematography and soundscapes, which impact the storytelling. The tunnel scene is one such example as it forecasts the man’s future. The use of rocket soundscapes foretells that the protagonist will set forth on a journey. It is a mechanized scene bringing with it, a sense of detachment which Kris experiences later in the film in Solaris
Also, the parallel images of the ocean, give the viewer enough time to reflect ones own thoughts and feelings and connect with oneself. There is a sense of sterility, which is evident in the later scenes where the protagonist is in Solaris.
The use of still images of paintings to depict life on earth too, impact the storytelling as they reflect the events on Earth comparing it with the life on Solaris continuing with the film’s cinematography style.
Tarkovsky distinguishes between Earth and Solaris by depicting Earth as an organic place with the dog, horses and the aquatic plants and Solaris as a detached, minimalistic and sterile place. Also, Tarkovsky subtly uses soundscapes to distinguish between the atmosphere on Earth by using classical music and electronic music for Solaris.
The film poses several philosophical that human beings ask each other, which make us introspect. The film runs in the form of two narratives, the first being the storyline itself and the other being the introspective questions it probes. It questions the morality and the ethics of Science. It talks about the existence of the universe functioning on a gigantic clock with multiple realms that are beyond our understanding. It talks about distances between the protagonist and his wife, which is metaphor for the distances we experience from our own self; as his wife was actually a reflection of his own memories and was a figment of his own imagination. It talks about how we choose to discard certain experiences to create our own reality, just as Kris creates his own reality in Solaris at the end of the film.
There are a couple of notable instances of cinematography and soundscapes, which impact the storytelling. The tunnel scene is one such example as it forecasts the man’s future. The use of rocket soundscapes foretells that the protagonist will set forth on a journey. It is a mechanized scene bringing with it, a sense of detachment which Kris experiences later in the film in Solaris
Also, the parallel images of the ocean, give the viewer enough time to reflect ones own thoughts and feelings and connect with oneself. There is a sense of sterility, which is evident in the later scenes where the protagonist is in Solaris.
The use of still images of paintings to depict life on earth too, impact the storytelling as they reflect the events on Earth comparing it with the life on Solaris continuing with the film’s cinematography style.
Tarkovsky distinguishes between Earth and Solaris by depicting Earth as an organic place with the dog, horses and the aquatic plants and Solaris as a detached, minimalistic and sterile place. Also, Tarkovsky subtly uses soundscapes to distinguish between the atmosphere on Earth by using classical music and electronic music for Solaris.
The film poses several philosophical that human beings ask each other, which make us introspect. The film runs in the form of two narratives, the first being the storyline itself and the other being the introspective questions it probes. It questions the morality and the ethics of Science. It talks about the existence of the universe functioning on a gigantic clock with multiple realms that are beyond our understanding. It talks about distances between the protagonist and his wife, which is metaphor for the distances we experience from our own self; as his wife was actually a reflection of his own memories and was a figment of his own imagination. It talks about how we choose to discard certain experiences to create our own reality, just as Kris creates his own reality in Solaris at the end of the film.