MOVIE CLUB: SOLARIS
From: Sam Hallgren
To: Adam Kempenaar; Eric Baker
Subject: Solaris Reconsidered

I think I may have finally figured out what bothered me about "Solaris." It was Adam's identification of, as he calls it, the movie's "central dilemma." According to Adam, that dilemma is Kelvin's choice between returning to Earth to resume a "normal" (but loveless) life, or staying on board the ship, alone in deep space, with what, by all appearances, is his wife, recalled from the grave. I think Adam's "central dilemma" is correct, but it's not the one I recognized when I watched the film. If I were to identify the movie's "central dilemma"--as I took it to be when I watched the film--it would be something like this: when forced to choose between reason and desire in a situation that tests all of this emotional and professional faculties, how does a man use logic to defeat temptation? An entirely un-metaphysical construction on my part, I realize. Without realizing it, I had set myself up with expectations that the film had no intention of satisfying. In my mind, Kelvin was the protagonist and the planet Solaris was the antagonist. My thoughts during the whole movie: How will Kelvin defeat Solaris? And it's not that Kelvin doesn't defeat Solaris at the end that bothered me; it's that he stops trying to defeat Solaris halfway through the film. From the moment that Kelvin sends the first Rheya to her "death" in an escape pod, I was rooting for Kelvin to outmaneuver whatever it was that had incapacitated the rest of the crew. Now why did I think that? Have I been watching too many conventional sci-fi action movies? Because I became increasingly irritated as Kelvin further submits to the power of Solaris. Now that I think about it, the film is, in many ways, like a more typical (if slow-moving) protagonist/antagonist struggle -- but -- absent a third act. In a traditional format we see the following formula: in the first act, we witness our hero's physical/mental prowess when faced with various obstacles; in the second act our hero's nemesis, the antagonist, gets the better of him by exploiting our hero's weakness(es); in the third act our hero uses his superhuman strength/will to defeat the antagonist. In "Solaris" we get the first two acts, and no third act. But this formula is disappointing only if that's the formula that Soderbergh is employing. Which, according to Adam, he isn't. And I agree with him. So how did I get so off-track? I'm glad that I finally understand what kept me from enjoying the film, but I don't want to take all the blame. Eric and Adam: Did Soderbergh mislead me at all, or am I just too conventional a filmgoer to have figured out what he was up to?

On another subject, Eric asked me to explain my current obsession with Netflix, the online DVD rental service. I'm not sure how many Cinemascoped readers use the service, or have replaced their VCRs with DVD players, but, for even the casual renter of DVDs, Netflix beats Blockbuster ten times out of ten. For one thing, Netflix completely changed my renting psychology. Before Netflix, I'd go to Blockbuster, peruse the new releases, and eighty-five percent of the time I would rent something from the new release section. I might stroll through the "Blockbuster Favorites" aisles, but even if I saw something that caught my eye--an overlooked classic or an intriguing indie film--I'd probably hold onto my $4.00+ new release. I wish you could all take a look at the list of films I have rented through Netflix in the past six months. Just last week, the following films arrived in my mailbox: Fellini's "8 12," the Christian Bale/Matt McConaughey dragon epic "Reign of Fire," Ingmar Bergman's "Wild Strawberries," and the Tim Robbins Vietnam Vet warped suspense film "Jacob's Ladder" (not to be confused with "Jakob the Liar"). I've also rented "The Last Starfighter" (lots of unintentional hilarity) the original "Get Carter" with Michael Caine (a great movie), and "Godfather III" (just as bad as you remember it being). I'm not sure I would have rented any of these movies at Blockbuster, assuming they even had them. Also, depending on the volume of films you watch per week, or per month, Netflix can be an incredible bargain. Granted, I wouldn't be watching nearly as many movies if I had to rent them, but as it stands, my roommate and I spend on average about $1 per rental--based on a cost-per-month rental/cost analysis conducted by my roommate in his prodigious spare time. Compare that with Blockbuster's ever-increasing prices, and it's a no-brainer. Plus, with Netflix, there are no late fees. I know that this sounds like an advertisement; but I reap no rewards for this kind of commentary. Consider this a public service message. And why'll you're at it, rent "Klute" or "The Right Stuff" or "The Last Detail" or "The Bridge Over The River Kwai" or Michael Mann's "Thief" with James Caan. All great films that I rented through Netflix that I would never have rented from Blockbuster. A single warning: not all of the chances you end up taking on films pay off. For every diamond in the rough, there are two or three stinkers: turns out “The Stunt Man” is only a cult classic for people who love terrible movies.