What Constitutes a Life?

solaris got me thinking about that. it takes on a different slant from the usual campy, sassy, cops-n-robbers fare that steven sodebergh seems to have a taste for. the dvd is a gift from jia- before she left for buffalo and after she watched it (and came to a conclusion that she does not quite fancy it). i appreciate the gesture nonetheless of course ;) chris (george clooney) is a psychologist who is hired to investigate strange events on a space station orbiting an oceanic planet called solaris. he finds the commander dead and discovers that the remaining crew are suffering from some sort of psychological trauma. it is the result of an unexplainable phenomenon which conjures the physical and tangible manifestations of everybody's family, friends and loved ones. for chris, his dead wife returns.

although a genre film in nature (science fiction), it is foremostly a drama about universal themes revolving around the notion of existentialism, faith, memory, isolation and the persisting question- what is life truly made of? what are life's origins? is it the spiritual and emotional consciousness of an individual entity that transcends the material and the physical or is it merely a randomly inevitable and mathematical conclusion to a cosmic equation. faith vs. science, mind vs. body, choices vs. answers.



the acting performances are good and i thought jeremy davis, who portrays a delusional and troubled man named snow, did particularly well. but he's always been an underrated actor who was involved with some of the best films and can be seen most recently in lars von trier's dogville (which is brilliant and i recommend everyone to go catch it!). the visuals in solaris are stunning and the ambient soundtrack by cliff martinez is superbly fitting. it traces the sense of alienation, melancholy and the profound mystery that is pervasive throughout the film. consequently, it is a poignant piece of work but i feel that the slight flaw is the lack of tension which i thought could have jolted a rythm into the movie's slack pace. after all, the thought of spiritual ressurection by an alien entity is rather frightening and strange. solaris has many similar themes to my favourite sci-fi movie of all time, 2001: a space odyssey.

Speaking About 2001: A Space Odyssey...

i finally got down to thinking about the references being made to said film by gaspar noe in irreversible after i sat through it again with two junior college buddies. i noticed that noe was referring to it during my first seating (with the large shot of the 2001 poster above the bed on which alex was sleeping and how pierre kept on calling marcus a primmate or an ape) but i managed to define those ideas yesterday during my second seating (the horror didn't ease but i didn't get motion sickness though). marcus and pierre are two extremes on a continuum- marcus represents the basic human instincts who is inclined to satisfy immediate physical and emotional needs much like the apes (early human) at the beginning of kubrick's 2001. he is also given to violence and extreme hatred which are thought to have stemmed from human nature. pierre on the other hand, is the personification of rational thought and intellect and that seperates him from proper physical function as discussed by the trio concerning alex's sex life. and thus, he is like hal 9000- the artificial intelligence entity that pilots the expedition spaceship in 2001. interestingly, it is pierre, the rational voice of anti-violence, who savagely attacks the tenia and kills him. it is proof that no matter how much one trains the mind, one cannot completely escape the all-consuming physical and emotional instincts. like hal from 2001, which is a product of human intelligence and ingenuity and is supposed to be a 100% rational and mathematical entity, that ends up maliciously scheming and murdering the very people who are entrusted to its care. because hal is a product of human beings, there is no escape from human flaws.



2001 ends mythically with a spiritual return to innocence when captain dave bowman is resurrected as a star child- a cosmic entity which resembles a fetul baby confined within a womb-like space which is insinuated to be a star. arthur c. clarke seems to suggest that beyond all knowledge and experiences, the human spirit will return to a sense of innocence- not a state of obliviousness per se- but rather a peaceful acceptance of how things are which will take place after a lifetime. irreversible, on the other hand, seems to suggest that "time (only) destroys all things" and a return to innocence is only possible by turning back time and hence the plot moving backwards. from a generally male space, which poses a danger to women, at the start of the film, the story makes a movement toward a more feminine and safe space at the end in which alex lies carelessly in a park reading a book amongst other women and their children. this represents a space of nurture, maternal instincts and innocence which is a complete opposite to the world of destructive forces and sexual deviantness at the start of the film. gaspar noe may have different ideas about atonement as compared to stanley kubrick (and arthur c. clarke) but the desire to return to a state of innocence is still the same.


picture courtesy of SciFliks.com

because irreversible moves backwards with most of the tension in the first half of the film, the second half is like the calm after the storm but it is very ironic and consequently, tragic. the karmic shift for alex is not a good one and we realize that her systems of belief will eventually betray her.

ok, i think i should step down from my soapbox now... even i'm starting to get a headache from my own rambling. =p i have very little time left in singapore, about 23 days to be exact... and then it's months of slogging at uni, leading a pathetic existence without the minding of family and friends, and (very) reduced trips to the cinema. hoorah for higher education... the enlightenment for the price of actually living it.

that was depressing. on a brighter note, i've added a new link to a fellow blogger- arfah. she's got an awesome blog, so do go to her place for a read. and jeffreys! who rediscovered my blog after all that time. nice to have you on board again, dude.

so till next time, live long and prosperous...