neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Solaris
	Steven Soderbergh George Clooney, Natascha McElhone, Jeremy Davies, Viola Davis, Ulrich Tukur 2002		With a lack of fancy effects, bug-eyed monsters or robots, and an emphasis on the metaphysical, Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky's 1972 adaptation of Stanislaw Lem's allegorical sci-fi novel "Solaris" was a space oddity — lengthy and introspective. Writer/director Steven Soderbergh's ambitious re-interpretation of "Solaris" offers more visual tricks, but leans on regular-guy leading man George Clooney in subdued mode as the movie's torn hero. Clooney is Chris Kelvin, a psychologist sent into space to investigate an apparent epidemic of madness that strikes the crew of an exploratory craft orbiting the mysterious planet Solaris. The shrink has struggled with his own problems since his wife's death, and his feelings of guilt and remorse are heightened after he reaches Solaris, where people's thoughts and experiences are somehow brought to life. When his wife (Natascha McElhone) is resurrected, Kelvin must decide if he's succumbing to lunacy, witnessing an illusion fostered by the planet, or in the presence of something greater. It's a deeply felt, albeit low-key, film that should inspire debate and self-examination.