Interstellar: 10 Superior Philosophical Sci-Fi Films

By Tom Baker /

5. Solaris

Tarkovsky was also responsible for the first adaptation of Polish sci-fi author Stanis‚aw Lem€™s Solaris, but it€™s Steven Soderbergh€™s version in 2002 that hewed a little closer to the source material. Starring starring George Clooney and Natascha McElhone, Soderbergh€™s take on Solaris manages to be both more accessible that the 1972 version, whilst also delving deeper into a lot of the philosophical and psychological themes Lem was tackling in his novel. Don€™t worry, it still involves an intrepid bunch of astronauts venturing into space and happening across something they weren't expecting. It€™s just Solaris has a lot more to say than Interstellar. Set almost entirely upon a space station orbiting the eponymous, far-flung planet, Solaris is all about the nature of memory, and the way that it can become twisted, fractured, and affect our modern lives even when they€™re just ephemeral moments from the past. Like, heavy stuff, man. Clooney struggles with hallucinations of his wife, who had committed suicide years before; apparently, something in the planet is causing these painful memories to not only return, but almost come back to life. A tough watch, but a rewarding one to say the least.