Solyaris

Full review on my blog max4movies: Solyaris is the first adaptation of Stanislaw Lem's novel of the same name. It's a two-part made for television movie about a scientist who encounters his dead wife on a space station orbiting a sentient planet. The movie heavily focuses on philosophic discussions about morality and stays more closely to the original novel than the other cinematic adaptations by Tarkowski and Soderbergh. Technically, the movie is dated and the generally low production values and the minimalistic setting will turn off some viewers. In addition, the slow pacing of the frequent dialogue scenes and the sometimes middling performances don't necessarily make the movie entertaining. However, the plot is intriguing and faithful to the source material, some dialogues are clever, and the black and white cinematography also make this science fiction drama atmospheric.