Solaris

Released 2002
Stars George Clooney, Natascha McElhone, Jeremy Davies, Viola Davis
Directed by Steven Soderbergh

This is a curiously unemotional movie given its subject matter. It's a remake of a much earlier film, and some of its points were later explored by Steven Spielberg in Artificial Intelligence: AI. Its concept raises very interesting questions about life and what we want from other people, and it's something you can discuss for hours if you like to philosophize. The idea of bringing a loved one back from the dead is very powerful, and it's something we human beings have longed for throughout our existence. This movie offers a twist, though. Your loved one is resurrected from your memory, so it's not really them. It's your memory of that person from your perspective, but then you have to wonder if that's what you really want. In a sense, you do. Since the replicant was created from the characters' memories, they were probably a more idealized version of the real person. Maybe that's better, but is it a problem that they're not human? It was for Gordon (Viola Davis) but not for Kelvin (George Clooney). Guilt is a very powerful emotion, and Kelvin had a chance to assuage his guilt and be with his wife again. That kind of guilt will eat you alive, and I can completely understand why he made his decision at the end.

Summary by Bill Alward, September, 13, 2003