In Solaris, a psychologist played by Donatas Banionis is sent to a space station orbiting a distant planet to diagnose whatever malady appears to have fallen upon its inhabitants.
Though the two filmmakers weren't fans of each other's meditative space epics, Stanley Kubrick's 2001 and Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris both touch on a singular notion: What we perceive as reality on Earth takes on a different shape in space. In Solaris, a psychologist played by Donatas Banionis is sent to a space station orbiting a distant planet to diagnose whatever malady appears to have fallen upon its inhabitants. It isn't long before the strange affliction takes hold of him as well, spawning visions (or are they?) of his deceased former wife. Solaris demands patience from its viewer, but its philosophical explorations of human interiority and the manifestations of our most painful memories are deeply rewarding.