Kris, Sartorius and Snaut
Tarkovsky's film Solaris uses space only as a metaphor for man's search for something beyond his understanding.
Kris is carrying out the search and Sartorius und Snaut are looking at it from their respective perspectives.
Sartorius' perspective is that of the modern scientist, who observes and repeats.
Snaut's perspective is that of a man, who studies human behaviour and asks for its motives.
From Sartorius' perspective the search for something beyond man's understanding is nothing more than the affirmation of man's condition. It seems inescapable and transparent.
From Snaut's perspective however there emerges a paradox in it: If man's motives always revolve around that which he understands, why then is he looking out for that, which he does not understand?
There's of course the simple answer to that, namely that he needs the unknown to achieve known ends, a superior weapon to kill his competitors, but in contrast to most of western cinema Solaris is not about murder.
What Kris, Sartorius and Snaut are facing has no use in the framework of that which they understand. And yet the question whether they are allowed to drop it pervades the film.
So the paradox is a real one and Snaut at least sees it. The reason why Sartorius is not seeing it, is because he is mistaken in his assumptions, that is in assuming that life consists only of repeatable actions, which it does not.
A repeatable action is a controlled one. There's no element of the right conditions involved, conditions that lie beyond man's control or prediction. It is because of this blind spot that Sartorius considers that which he does not yet understand to be just like that which he does already understand.
Man is drawn to his fate, which he does not understand. It expresses itself in forms that he does understand, yet its raison d'être remains elusive. Man is seeking guidance, a chain that stretches through the times.
And Snaut at least as much as stumbles over it, whereas Sartorius is blinded to it. And Kris is shown starting to get a hold of that chain.
Solaris is at its core a warning against the power to make man forget that lies in the notion of progress: a false, empty chain.
Kris is carrying out the search and Sartorius und Snaut are looking at it from their respective perspectives.
Sartorius' perspective is that of the modern scientist, who observes and repeats.
Snaut's perspective is that of a man, who studies human behaviour and asks for its motives.
From Sartorius' perspective the search for something beyond man's understanding is nothing more than the affirmation of man's condition. It seems inescapable and transparent.
From Snaut's perspective however there emerges a paradox in it: If man's motives always revolve around that which he understands, why then is he looking out for that, which he does not understand?
There's of course the simple answer to that, namely that he needs the unknown to achieve known ends, a superior weapon to kill his competitors, but in contrast to most of western cinema Solaris is not about murder.
What Kris, Sartorius and Snaut are facing has no use in the framework of that which they understand. And yet the question whether they are allowed to drop it pervades the film.
So the paradox is a real one and Snaut at least sees it. The reason why Sartorius is not seeing it, is because he is mistaken in his assumptions, that is in assuming that life consists only of repeatable actions, which it does not.
A repeatable action is a controlled one. There's no element of the right conditions involved, conditions that lie beyond man's control or prediction. It is because of this blind spot that Sartorius considers that which he does not yet understand to be just like that which he does already understand.
Man is drawn to his fate, which he does not understand. It expresses itself in forms that he does understand, yet its raison d'être remains elusive. Man is seeking guidance, a chain that stretches through the times.
And Snaut at least as much as stumbles over it, whereas Sartorius is blinded to it. And Kris is shown starting to get a hold of that chain.
Solaris is at its core a warning against the power to make man forget that lies in the notion of progress: a false, empty chain.
Labels: 24, filmkritik, gesellschaftsentwurf, gesellschaftskritik, gesetze, institutionen, metaphysik, rezension, sehhilfen, wahrnehmungen, ἰδέα, φιλοσοφία
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