The release of this remarkable science fiction film marked a milestone in Soviet cinema, and a distinct change of pace for Andrei Tarkovsky, whose previous film was the controversial fifteenth century epic, Andrei Roublev (see March 21). Like Andrei Roublev, however, Solaris concerns a character who, in Tarkovsky's words, “has something to overcome, who must win in the name of the optimism in which I believe.” Solaris is based on the science fiction novel by Polish writer Stanislas Lemm. Set in the near future in an unidentified country, it tells of a psychologist, Kelvin, who is sent to the planet Solaris, where scientists have discovered that the oceans can absorb human memory and materialize the objects of our thoughts. Kelvin becomes host to the presence of his wife, Hari, dead 10 years, and then is increasingly immersed in his memories and those of his colleagues.