Solaris (1972) - "If you see something out of the ordinary, something besides me and Sartorius, try not to lose your head."

This little know scifi movie from the 70s presents a very interesting hypothetical situation that would make most people reflect on what they would do if they found themselves in these circumstances. The story is actually well-known for western audiences because there is a modern remake with George Clooney as the main actor.

The remake is very different, with a length greatly reduced but more appropriate for today's public. The story is about a psychologist that is tasked for a trip into space. He needs to go to a space station to figure out what is happening with the people working in that place. Before departing, he hears one of the people who use to work in there telling crazy things that were dismissed as hallucinations.

This space station is researching another planet with a very mysterious ocean. The big problems begin when the people who are currently working in that place also report seeing very weird and impossible things. This is a scifi/mystery story, there is nothing scary about it so it certainly doesn't belong in the horror genre like other space mystery movies such as Event Horizon that can get quite macabre.

The movie lasts almost 3 hours, and honestly, there were some parts that were unnecessary. I am not lying when I said there was a scene that lasted around 5 minutes and it was only to show some cars driving on the highway. I don't understand why the necessity to waste so many minutes simply watching cars?

On the other hand, the scifi mystery is very intriguing and mind puzzling. I won't say anything about this but if you have already seen the Hollywood version then you already know what is happening in that space station. It is something that could influence people to make decisions that were impossible to even consider before experiencing this unexplainable phenomenon.

The performances were acceptable, I was busy reading the subtitles but I have nothing to criticize about the actors, they did their job well. Before recommending this movie I must insist on its excessive length and slowness, so have this in mind but if you can tolerate that, and are interested in a great scifi topic then you might enjoy this film. However, it is probably better to watch the Hollywood version instead of this one.

The best

• Good and thoughtful scifi topic.

The worst

• The length and the slowness is too much for modern audiences.

More information: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/593
Review: AAA
In numbers: 7.5/10