Solaris

"A space exploration film that was never, and still has never, been surpassed in its spiritual and emotional intelligence. Coming out only just a few years after 2001: A Space Odyssey, Tarkovsky’s film feels more like a distant cousin than it does its opposite. However Solaris is more organic than it is mechanical and is more emotional than it is objective or scientific. What if a planet truly was conscious? What if that planet could materialize a previously deceased animal or person who meant the entire world to you? These are some of the ideas that are at play here and it ends up being an examination of identity and consciousness. The organ-heavy score stirs up an unfounded nostalgia and the soundscapes transport me to a place that I feel like I have been before in a long lost life. The ending shot doesn’t fail to send shivers down my spine in its hauntingly poetic ambiguity."

"This Soviet sci-fi classic is deep, philosophical, and very very long. It almost puts you into a trance. There are so many layers to the story, I can’t even begin to process all of it on first viewing. I can see why it’s adored by cinephiles."

"Extremely immersive and mysterious film. "

"Sci Fi masterpiece that delivers on all its premises. Beautiful, haunting, and thought-provoking."