Kris Kelvin is a psychologist ready to launch to Solaris. He's with his family reviewing tapes of the confusing interrogation of pilot Berton about the floundering mission. He arrives at the space station to find it in disrepair. Snaut and Sartorius are in haunted isolation while Gibarian had committed suicide. He is visited by hallucinations of his dead wife Khari.
This is an art-house sci-fi from the Soviet era. The first act goes too slowly. There is a lot of talk. I'm not sure putting it in a Russian dacha is terribly exciting although it's very Russian. Berton's interrogation is strangely disconnected because Kris is not the person doing the interrogation. The actual space station is an odd mix of futurism and a contemporary home office. It's all very art-house. The alien ocean looks beautifully hypnotic. The idea of the story and its treatment is original and intriguing.
This is an art-house sci-fi from the Soviet era. The first act goes too slowly. There is a lot of talk. I'm not sure putting it in a Russian dacha is terribly exciting although it's very Russian. Berton's interrogation is strangely disconnected because Kris is not the person doing the interrogation. The actual space station is an odd mix of futurism and a contemporary home office. It's all very art-house. The alien ocean looks beautifully hypnotic. The idea of the story and its treatment is original and intriguing.