 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
71.106.177.170
It was late and I was a little tired but for some reason it felt like the right time to pop it in (it's been sitting here for weeks, destroying the value of my netflix account).
It took about 5 minutes for me to be all in. The look, feeel and sound, the overall atmosphere, was immediately compelling. And when it ended at close to 1AM I still felt that way... and more.The movie is a meditation and I could see where it would be a grind if one wasn't drawn to meditative things or wasn't in the right frame of mind when watching it.
I'm a fan of the remake and would probably still enjoy it but it doesn't have nearly the depth of the original (and it's very Americanized with it's brand of happpily ever after).
Anyway, not much to say about individual scenes except that when Kelvin is being tended to by Khari and wakes to find her gone, through to the end of the film, the portrayal of a man who at the same time is feeling the impact of having been emotionally brutalized (not by her, just by all of it) and realizing a kind of hope he's never known is simply and powerfully brilliant (simply refers to the presentation not the depth or complexity of what's being expressed).
Also, since it was mentioned recently, a quick thought about the freeway scene. I didn't see it as filler or, specifically, as a comment on industrialzed life. I felt it was a metaphor for the emotional/psychological damage done to Burton by his experience (but more by the offical reaction to it). The tunnels, the sound, the angles, etc. felt like riding through the catacombs of his psyche and/or mind and/or emotional state and were also giving us a touch of the feeling of both monotony and the confusion that returning from Solaris could engender. That probably sounds like I was thinking about it a lot but I wasn't. I was just experiencing it and am trying to put words to it after the fact (that goes for everything I'm writing here).
All in all a beautiful and profoundly human film that is now among my all time favorites.
Don't piss on my shoe and tell me it's raining.
Follow Ups:
esp. at 3AM in a twin-turbo Supra or Skyline, which are paced more like the Indianapolis 500 than a Stanislaw Lem novelFilmed between Kasumigaseki and Shinjuku, Tokyo; Shitoko number 4
It's a toll road, an "Expressway" 'cos "Free" it ain't...
Of course the association with Solaris could make me fall asleep at the wheel when I drive out that way; if my replay of this scene wasn't flashing past at several times the rate of the film...
Grins
I think Tarkovsky's Solaris is a love or hate thing. Either you love it, as you do and also Victor and I, or you hate it. It seems to polarise viewer responses.There have been a few interesting threads discussing Solaris, including a debate about it's vices and virtues relative to Kubrick's 2001, here recently and you may want to do a search to check them out. There are strong, polarised opinions in all of them as I recall.
David Aiken
I'm not a big fan of 2001. For me it felt much slower and less compelling than Solaris but then I haven't tried to watch it in a while. What I remember though is not caring very much about anyone in it. I should watch it again and see how I feel.Two films which come to mind in relation to Solaris purely for their being slow and quiet/meditative and very human in their ways are Jarmusch's Dead Man and Malick's New World (of course when has to get past Colin Farrell to enjoy it).
Don't piss on my shoe and tell me it's raining.
I saw him sulking in the corner, mumbling something like "If you can't beat them... "
nt
Don't piss on my shoe and tell me it's raining.
comes out on DVD. Damn, I'm tired of waiting for it, "Raise Ravens," "The Guns," and "Berlin Alexanderplatz," and many others.
Our local video store has "Stalker" on DVD.Rod
It'll be interesting to see if I like more of his work.
Don't piss on my shoe and tell me it's raining.
I am sure you will love them. I would just allow a few days in between, let the emotion and feelings settle in. Both films are incredibly deep and rich.BTW, Donatas Banionis, who plays Kalvin, is great actor, you might want to try to find some of his films - might be hard, though.
came across as I was following up a lead from a Lithuanian friend who, when he heard I was a film "addict," asked me if I was aware of the great Lithuanian film tradition.
"Great?" I stupidly asked?
I then "googled" and, to my amazement, found that there are many highly regarded Lithuanian directors and actors. It seems it also has produced many excellent documentaries.
Netflix, to my disgust, has NONE.
Won't be here for weeks.I have Jim Jarmusch's Down By Law for tonight.
We have an excellent video store close by with lots of stuff on VHS that hasn't been released on DVD... they may have a film or two with Banionis in it... I'll let you know if I watch any.
Don't piss on my shoe and tell me it's raining.
...take it to a local pub on the SuperBowl night, lock the exit and make everyone there watch it on the big screen TV?
considering the state of most guys by the half...
Very nice review, Steve, thank you! Brought back the memories.Liked your tunnel paragraph... don't know if I agree, having not seen the film in several years, but sounds like an interesting take.
Profoundly human is right. Tarkovsky pulled THAT out of the novel, while someone else of a lesser talent and more limited vision, would have latched on the techno side of the story.
Also from my teenage memories... I think the Solaris is Lem's most human novel. His other works, like the Invincible (English translation?), are heavily techno-freak delights.
It's always a tough thing to impose meaning on something abstract like the tunnel sequence... for all any of use know - though I doubt it - Tarkovsky just thought it looked and felt cool.All that really matters in such a case, or in viewing a painting or reading a poem, is how it makes a person feel.
I'm impressed by the fact that what few techno elements existed were all in support of the human part.
The movie is really with me... that human-ness... what an achievment.
Don't piss on my shoe and tell me it's raining.
We of course don't know what was in the director head as he made that sequence, but your interpretation is thought provoking.
.
.
Don't piss on my shoe and tell me it's raining.
... so I'll agree with your diagnosis, ...to a point. ;^)
.
Don't piss on my shoe and tell me it's raining.
That tunnel scene has to be one of the most boring wastes of film stock in all of cinema, and the length of time scientists sit around contemplating their navels at the dinner party while theorizing what's going on off screen takes pretentious cinema to a whole new level. I guess one man's "compelling" is another's "ho-hum", but what the heck, whatever refuels your rocket.BTW, does Snorlaris ever actually end? I'm not asking HOW it ends mind you, because having lost time I'll never be able to recover I'm not that interested now, but after struggling mightily against my eye-lids for such a seemingly interminable length of time I'm curious if this film actually has a conclusion!
AuPh
That really did make me laugh.I assure you it ends, but it's a reasonably vague ending (not that I'd expect that to be surprising news).
Solaris is only 26 minutes longer than 2001 but that movie felt like it took 5 hours the last time I tried to watch it.
Don't piss on my shoe and tell me it's raining.
...not the year. :o)Cheers,
AuPh
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]