Soderbergh's version of ``Solaris'' A visual poem filled with a sense of loneliness

A sense of “loneliness” pervades Soderbergh’s version.

In my opinion, Soderbergh's version of Solaris is much closer to Lem's original work than Tarkovsky's Solaris . Indeed, Soderbergh's version focuses on the love-hate drama between Kelvin and Leia (Harry in the original story), and depicts scenes on Earth in more detail, from how they met, to their marriage, to Leia's suicide. In the DVD commentary, Soderbergh says, ``Rem hasn't seen the movie, and I really hope he does,'' but if Rem had seen it, he might have expressed his anger just as he did in Tarkovsky's version.

But Soderbergh's version and Earth are not the nostalgic world that Kelvin wishes he could return to. It rains gloomily all the time, lacks color, and feels inorganic and lonely. This is probably because this is a memory based on Kelvin's own feelings rather than a depiction of a dystopia, but it is far from the romanticism of Tarkovsky's version of family and homeland, and does not give the slightest sense of nostalgia.

"Solaris" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

Kelvin, played by George Clooney, sees saving Leia, who has been reborn by Solaris, as a Being There to make amends for the mistakes he made with his late wife, but Soderbergh doesn't question whether that's a good idea or not. However, by incorporating the difficulty of forming relationships between people and the sense of isolation, we are able to delve deeper into Kelvin's personal darkness. Soderbergh is a filmmaker with a relatively cold outlook, but ``Solaris'' is by far the most emotional film in his filmography, as it is filled with the well-known feelings of ``remorse'' and ``loneliness.'' It's probably because I'm doing it.