Don't turn scientific problems into love stories

Kiarra 2021-12-08 08:01:42

"Star Solaris" is the most famous science fiction novel by Polish writer and philosopher Stanislav Lem, and it is also a recognized masterpiece of science fiction history. The fictional Solaris star in the novel is a weird planet covered by the ocean under a dual star system. Various signs indicate that the entire ocean is a huge life body, which arouses the interest of human beings to communicate with it.

The protagonist of the novel, Chris (psychologist), went to investigate due to the mysterious death of his friend on the Solaris space station, and stayed with the two remaining scientists, Snow (cybernetics expert) and Satoris (physicist). During the period, his wife, Hallie, who had been dead for ten years, appeared by his side. He then discovered that everyone had encountered similar incidents, and his friend collapsed and committed suicide because of this reason.

The resurrection of the deceased is the objectification and copying of human memory and psychology by Solaris. This planet seems to be using mysterious force fields to aggregate neutrinos to form human mimic entities in order to think and understand what human beings are.

Well, what is a person, and then what is life, this ultimate question is that Lyme uses philosophical thinking to build the foundation of science fiction, and it is also one of the reasons why this novel has become a classic. Several other reasons include: fictionalizing a planetary lifeform similar to gods beyond human experience, fictionalizing a wonderful and rich history of Solaris scientific development, describing the shocking mimicry scenes of Solaris star, and touching The mutual ignorance and mutual conceit of emotion and reason, and so on.

From the last sentence of the novel to the topic of today:

"What is waiting for me, satisfaction, sarcasm and suffering? I don't know, I just believe that cruel miracles will continue to be performed." (by: Chris)

In 1972, Andrei Tarkovsky adapted this novel into the movie "Star Solaris". At the end of the movie, he deduced this sentence: Solaris star is receiving Chris's whole brain. After the bombardment of the radio waves, a larger scale of mimicry was brewed. Instead of just copying a character in memory, it raised an island, bringing Chris’s memory of his home, his old father, and even dogs, trees, and highways. Once it was copied and the earth air that could be directly breathed was copied, Chris finally knelt at his father's feet, and entered into the unknown and bewildered that time stretches infinitely in memory and reality.

Movies adapted from literature, we usually label them loyal to the original or disloyal to the original. Examples of the former are the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy or the first four seasons of "Game of Thrones". There are many examples of the latter. Lift.

Whether you are loyal to the original, in fact, shouldn't be a problem at all. Because if the role of the movie is to restore the narrative scenes of literature, it would be too boring. It is really meaningless except to sell the feelings of the readers and fans. A good literary adaptation of a film is first of all a good film. In other words, no matter how loyal to the original, the film must be self-consistent and complete.

Leaving aside the question of loyalty, we only watch the quality of the movie. A good example is Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey", which has the most possible sound and visual possibilities, and the effect achieved is not inferior to the original work. The depth of thinking on this subject matter is even more influential and helpful. The creation of Clark's novel (this movie and the novel were created simultaneously, and the latter three of the novel, without Kubrick's participation, Clark's flew higher and worse).

The counterexample also comes from Kubrick. The failure of "Lolita" is that Kubrick's control over subtle emotions is far from being achieved, and the film therefore appears to be emotionally unreliable (this question is in It no longer exists in the "Big Eyes Ring" before death).

Back to "The Star of Solaris", Steven Soderbergh made "The Star of Solaris" 30 years later by Tarkovsky. He extracted the popular selling point of love from the original work, and was very interested in the movie. Regardless of the special effects, the logic of the story, the value of reflection, etc., the whole movie is a mess, and it's not worth mentioning. And his terrible approach, Tarkovsky has already warned the dead in Snowt's dialogue with Chris: "Don't turn a scientific problem into an ordinary love story."

The basic problem to be solved in the adaptation of the film is still an original problem. Here are two very subtle examples from Tarkovsky's "Star Solaris" to illustrate :

1. When Hallie was resurrected by Chris for the first time, she walked to the mirror during the conversation and saw herself in the mirror. After comparing the photos, she realized that she was Hallie.

This detail is very wonderful, and Lyme has an equally wonderful detail in the original: Halle's skirt is a complete skirt that cannot be untied and taken off, they had to cut it with scissors. Halle is an entity copied by Solaris from Chris’ memory. It replicates the physical form, but does not understand the principle of the skirt. When Halle was born, the first question faced was "I am Who". Tarkovsky added this detail to make Lyme's setting more believable.

2. Snowt tore the paper into a strip of paper and stuck it on the vent, telling Chris that this is a method invented by Gibalian (Chris came here because of Gibalian's death) to make you sleep At that time, I could feel the sound of the tree. Although Satorius dismissed it (a physicist's conceit), he also posted a note.

This detail is also Tarkovsky's wonderful creation. He directly addresses a fundamental human situation: the needs for emotion, senses, and memory are the same whether they are rational or perceptual. This is a more vivid refinement and expression of the opposition of people set by Lyme.

Such details are based on the director's deep thinking and serious understanding of the original work, and this foundation is one of the foundations for all works to be established. Tarkovsky's superiority over other directors includes this quality.

There are many such wonderful details, let’s not give an example one by one, let’s talk about two of Tarkovsky’s larger wonderful adaptations:

1. There are very few library scenes in the movie, and the longest one is Snowt Chris (Halley is accompanying) and Satorius were invited to meet in the library on his birthday. Except for several people’s discussions on copying, scientific exploration, and beliefs, the most subtle thing is that the candlestick and Halle are 30 seconds of weightlessness. The scene with Chris floating in the library, this scene can be said to be the most beautiful expression of weightlessness in a science fiction movie.

The library is a very important scene in the original work. Chris has repeatedly entered the library to look up the behavior. Lime spent a lot of space, and through the perspective of Chris' reading, he connected a complete history of the development of Solaris planetary science. During this period, he also completed his deep reflection on science, philosophy, imagination, etc. The reason why Lyme is not satisfied with Tarkovsky's film can also be guessed from here. Perhaps it is precisely the disagreement between a rationalist and a sensualist.

2. Tarkovsky set the pilot Beltone as a friend of Chris's father. In the first tens of minutes of the movie, he slowly and calmly laid down Chris’s inner state, and gave a detailed account of Beltone’s presence in Solaris. The strange experience on the surface and subsequent encounters with the Science Committee, and a six-minute scene of Beltone driving across the Tokyo viaduct to show this person's state. This approach is completely Tarkovsky, or rather stylized.

This style is obviously contrary to Lyme. In the original book, Chris read about Beltone's experience in the library, and he didn't know Beltone either. The huge change in the plot setting is due to the completely different themes of the two authors: Lyme is not concerned with individuals, but the general problems of human beings; Tarkovsky is concerned with individuals, and he uses this to think about humans. The general problem.

Therefore, the contradiction between Tarkovsky and Lyme is inevitable, and his adaptation of the original work is also inevitable. This kind of inevitability shows the strength and integrity of the author, and it is also possible to promote the independence and integrity of a work. The issue of adaptation is no longer a matter of choice. At this point, this issue does not even exist anymore. Any good work is an independent new creation, while the original is only a piece of material and a starting point. For such materials and starting points, much is needed: the spirit, emotion, aesthetics, style, etc. of the adaptor, as well as a deep understanding and mastery of his own creative language.

View more about Solaris reviews

Extended Reading
  • Cecelia 2022-03-28 09:01:03

    For me, there is only one director in the world who must fall asleep every time he watches it, and that is the old tower. Watching this film in the middle of the night is even more drowsy. I still don't talk about the main idea. I feel that in that era, when the level of art and special effects was still very limited, it was possible to avoid the special effects of fifty cents. It looked very powerful if it was not low. After reading it, I also discussed this question. It seems that when watching the old tower on the big screen, there will always be some sound effects that are particularly loud and harsh. Is this one of the characteristics?

  • Vita 2022-03-25 09:01:08

    I don't know why I can't remember your face. The tower-style fear comes directly from the depths of the heart, and it keeps coming back to find it with an immortal body. Blurring dream and reality, past and future, Tarkovsky jumps freely between black and white and color. Flying into space is a psychological healing process under extreme conditions, the core of which is reconciliation to the homeland and conversion of the family. Our present identity existence is attached to our memory, and when the authenticity of memory is blurred, our present existence is also shaken. In the end, it felt too long, especially the last paragraph, which was dragged for explanation, but the Japanese on-board footage really caught my heart.

Solaris quotes

  • Dr. Sartorius: Go away. You're too impressionable. You must get used to everything. Good day.

  • Kris Kelvin: I think I'm a little sick.

    Dr. Snaut: There's nothing wrong with you. You just won't take advice.