Psychologist Chris Kelvin, played by George Clooney, arrives on a spaceship near the planet Solaris to investigate why the crew is suffering. Kelvin has a vivid dream of his deceased wife his first night on the ship and then discovers her lying next to him after wakening. Later that morning, Kelvin realizes that others also have “visitors” and that Solaris is affecting the crew almost like an afterlife in which the living can be reunited with the dead. Director Steven Soderbergh’s Solaris is a moving investigation into how we might handle longing and loss when offered the opportunity to experience what we thought was gone forever.
If you enjoy this movie, you will also like Solaris directed by Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. Each movie is based off the book by Polish author Stanislaw Lem, and each is a different interpretation. Both are fantastic.