Solaris

The phrase “I’m just asking questions” has grown in recent years to take on some toxic connotations. It isn’t just the hallmark of an unorthodox mind anymore; it’s the red flag of a professional (if intellectually bankrupt) rabble rouser, someone out to be contrary because objective reality doesn’t fit their desired narrative. The person saying it isn’t asking questions; they’re dedicated to the cause of never agreeing for the sake of it. I bring this up not to inject politics into a review, but because the phrase could be taken another way, and that is how Solaris means it. Solaris is just asking question, in the sense that it is ONLY asking questions. It is not seeking answers. It isn’t capable of even listening to answers. It is too in love with what it believes is it’s own profundity. Solaris is every ninth grade wanna be philosopher who thinks they’ve stumbled onto a mind-blowing revelation like reality being a simulation, or the Mandela Effect being timelines collapsing into each other, only they haven’t actually thought about the ramifications of their scenario. Everything is “what if” and “wouldn’t it be cool if”, but there’s nothing beyond the question. Solaris is that kid. It isn’t interested in the answer, because the questions is raises aren’t meant to be answered. They’re meant to be pondered in a dorm room filled with pot smoke and empty ramen noodle packages. It’s empty and vacuous, but it’s also not trying to fill that vacuum. It just wants you to think about the vacuum. What is memory? What good is it if it has bias? What is more important, the memories you have or the ones you’ll make? It asks these questions, follows it up with “wow, that’s, like, deep, right?”, and keeps doing this for 100 fucking minutes. I’ll give it this, it’s a pretty movie. And George Clooney could act against a broomstick and make it watchable. But watchable is not synonymous with good. Screen savers are watchable, but nobody sits down to a night of that never ending castle tunnel from Windows 95. That’s something it and Solaris have in common; they have the same intellectual depth. One is just honest about it.