Solaris

Sat, Aug 9, 2008

I watched Solaris last night, the 2002 film adaptation of Stanislaw Lem’s 1921 novel. (I had been meaning to for a long time, but never got around to it.) Although not exactly faithful to all of the subtleties and themes of Lem’s novel, I still enjoyed it. A lot. Steven Soderbergh has narrowed the scope a bit to focus squarely on the character of Kris Kelvin (George Clooney) and transformed the story into an essay on human loss and grief. The sci-fi elements are restrained, but still serve the story well.

I bet this film would look amazing in high-def on Blu-ray. The cinematography is gorgeous. (Which reminds me. If you get the chance, check out the re-release of Gattaca that came out a while back. Stunning.)