"Solaris" by Stanislav Lem

 

On January 31, a meeting of our literary club will be held at the Polish language school Together. The subject of discussion will be a truly iconic book - Stanislav Lem's Solaris. For your convenience, we have put together three different ways with which you can quickly refresh in your head the events that took place at the mysterious Solaris space station.

 

 

Image source: canal-midi.info

 

The most correct decision (at least from the point of view of the literary club) is simply to read Solaris. There are two options: if the level of knowledge of Polish allows, you can take on the original, if not, there is always a translation into your native language. A little hint: in order to read Solaris in Polish, you don’t have to buy it. You can simply go to the library with which the Together school collaborates (ul. Janusza Meissnera 5) and take a book of interest there.

  

 

 

Film of Andrei Tarkovsky is perhaps the most famous attempt to visualize (or even rather interpret) the classic book of Lem. Great director, stunning camera work, the Grand Prix of the Cannes Film Festival - these are just a tiny part of the indisputable advantages of the picture. However, there is a flip side to the coin: despite the similar characters and the plot, Solaris by Lem and Tarkovsky are two completely different works. So much so that during the negotiations on exactly how to shoot the film (and these negotiations lasted for six weeks), Lem and Tarkovsky quarreled to the smithereens. After all Stanislav Lem himself subsequently mercilessly criticized the released film. However, both of these works - both the film and the book - are unique in their own way and must be familiarized with.

 

 

 

The last (at least at the moment) attempt to film “Solaris” was with the American director Stephen Soderberg. It turned out interesting and spectacular, but a little contradictory. On the one hand, in the arsenal of the picture was a fairly well-known director and George Clooney in the lead role, on the other - a failure at the box office and mixed reviews from critics. One way or another, the 2002 film is a great option to get to know the Solaris concept. After all, books or a work of Tarkovsky rather difficult for perception and are not suitable for everyone. Well and the main thing: in Stephen Soderberg’s film, even for a couple of seconds, George Clooney’s buttocks flash.

 

Image source: Solaris. Art for Stanislaw Lem's novel от Alex Andreyev. License: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.ru#