Like our planet, the planet in Tarkovsky’s
Solaris thinks. But its thoughts are produced by a sea that
covers its surface, instead of primates with large brains. The
sea’s thinking affects human thinking. It acts on the human brain in
much the same way a hallucinogen acts on neural receptors. The
astronauts begin seeing the dead, seeing women floating above their
beds. Solaris is science fiction in the condition of
music. (Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, 267-5380. 6 and 9:15
pm, $5—$8.50.)

Charles Mudede—who writes about film, books, music, and his life in Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, the USA, and the UK for The Stranger—was born near a steel plant in Kwe Kwe, Zimbabwe. He has no memory...