As a mediocre student of Russian, I once tried to procrastinate studying for an exam by watching Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1972 film Solaris. I reasoned that since the movie was in Russian, it was the same as learning how to use the genitive plural. I was wrong. The philosophical heft of a film that dealt with love, space, and the meaning of life proved too heavy and slow for a distractible 19-year-old attempting to avoid work. So after about 20 minutes, I went back to my book and I haven’t returned to the film since. I regret that decision immensely—so catch me cozied up in the back of the Grand Illusion this weekend, watching this masterpiece of science fiction in its entirety. by Jas Keimig