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Solaris poster

Movies that feel likeSolaris (1972)

A psychologist is sent to a space station orbiting a planet called Solaris to investigate the death of a doctor and the mental problems of cosmonauts on the station. He soon discovers that the water on the planet is a type of brain which brings out repressed memories and obsessions.

If you loved Solaris, the closest films we have are Ikarie XB 1 (1963), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and K-PAX (2001). All three share Solaris' cerebral feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Ugetsu (1953).

🍅 92% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.9 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Andrei Tarkovskycontemplativecerebraltwistyawedreamlike
7 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Paramount Plus Premium

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If Solaris hit the spot, these will too

Ikarie XB 1 poster
Ikarie XB 1
1963 · dir. Jindřich Polák
🍅 100%★ 6.9science fiction

Common ground: space travel

The difference: Takes it somewhere less contemplative than Solaris does

The year is 2163. Starship Ikaria XB-1 embarks on a mission deep into space in search of alien life. During their perilous journey the crew confront the effects of a malignant dark star, the destructive legacy of the 20th century and, ultimately, the limits of their own sanity.

2001: A Space Odyssey poster
2001: A Space Odyssey
1968 · dir. Stanley Kubrick
🍅 90%★ 8.3science fiction · mystery · adventureMax

The same preoccupation in both: astronaut

The difference: Trades the stillness of Solaris for an angle of its own

Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.

K-PAX poster
K-PAX
2001 · dir. Iain Softley
🍅 41%★ 7.4science fiction · drama · mystery

Contemplative and cerebral in the same breath

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

Prot is a patient at a mental hospital who claims to be from a far away planet. His psychiatrist tries to help him, only to begin to doubt his own explanations.

Space Sweepers poster
Space Sweepers
2021 · dir. Jo Sung-hee
🍅 70%★ 6.5drama · fantasy · science fictionNetflix

The same mix in both: awe, then dream logic

The difference: Sits closer to fantasy than Solaris does

When the crew of a space junk collector ship called The Victory discovers a humanoid robot named Dorothy that's known to be a weapon of mass destruction, they get involved in a risky business deal which puts their lives at stake.

Stalker poster
Stalker
1979 · dir. Andrei Tarkovsky
🍅 100%★ 8science fiction · dramaMax

Andrei Tarkovsky directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, a place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A stalker guides two men into the Zone, specifically to an area in which deep-seated desires are granted.

Arrival poster
Arrival
2016 · dir. Denis Villeneuve
🍅 94%★ 7.9drama · science fiction · mysteryParamount+Peacock

Both lean on twists more than on drama

The difference: Made in the 2010s, in a different era of the craft

Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture poster
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
1979 · dir. Robert Wise
🍅 51%★ 6.4science fiction · adventure · mysteryParamount+

Science fiction built on ideas, twice over

When an unidentified alien destroys three powerful Klingon cruisers, Captain James T. Kirk returns to the newly transformed U.S.S. Enterprise to take command.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes poster
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
1970 · dir. Ted Post
🍅 37%★ 6adventure · science fiction · mystery

Both are built on the same subject: astronaut

The sole survivor of an interplanetary rescue mission lands on the planet of the apes, and uncovers a horrible secret beneath the surface.

Blow-Up poster
Blow-Up
1966 · dir. Michelangelo Antonioni
🍅 87%★ 7.4drama · mystery · thriller

Contemplative mystery, and it commits to that

A successful mod photographer in London whose world is bounded by fashion, pop music, marijuana, and easy sex, feels his life is boring and despairing. But in the course of a single day he unknowingly captures a death on film.

Ugetsu poster
Ugetsu
1953 · dir. Kenji Mizoguchi
🍅 100%★ 8.1fantasy · drama · mysteryMax

Drama with a pulse of twists, in both cases

In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage's warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Genjuro's pursuit of both riches and the mysterious Lady Wakasa, as well as Tobei's desire to become a samurai, run the risk of destroying both themselves and their wives, Miyagi and Ohama.

Fantastic Planet poster
Fantastic Planet
1973 · dir. René Laloux
🍅 91%★ 7.6animation · science fictionMax

One thread runs through both: space travel

On the planet Ygam, the Draags, extremely technologically and spiritually advanced blue humanoids, consider the tiny Oms, human beings descendants of Terra's inhabitants, as ignorant animals. Those who live in slavery are treated as simple pets and used to entertain Draag children; those who live hidden in the hostile wilderness of the planet are periodically hunted and ruthlessly slaughtered as if they were vermin.

Silent Running poster
Silent Running
1972 · dir. Douglas Trumbull
🍅 71%★ 6.6science fiction · adventure · drama

Awestruck science fiction in both cases

After the entire flora goes extinct, ecologist Lowell maintains a greenhouse aboard a space station for the future with his android companions. However, he rebels after being ordered to destroy the greenhouse in favor of carrying cargo, a decision that puts him at odds with everyone but his mechanical companions.

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The best-reviewed films that share Solaris’ defining feeling.