A cinematic sci-fi ode to Polish author Stanisław Lem, at the Cinematheque until July 1

Android space crews and more as Andrei Tarkovsky, Steven Soderbergh, and more pay tribute to the prescient Polish author on screen

The Cinematheque streams Lem 2021: Stanislaw Lem on Film until July 1

YOU PROBABLY KNOW Polish science-fiction writer Stanislaw Lem best from his 1961 novel Solaris—the eerie tale of a space-station crew suffering an unknown psychological crisis that was made into no less than three different movies.

Among those is Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris, generally celebrated as one of the greatest science-fiction films of all times. It’s on view online as part of a big centennial celebration of Lem’s work onscreen at The Cinematheque, alongside Steven Soderbergh’s 2002 rendition with George Clooney.

But the real finds here are his other eerily prescient and often funny works meditating on everything from alien intelligence to the implications of advancing technology.

Check out the 1979 cult film Pilot Pirx’s Inquest (also known as Test Pilot Pirx), based on the 1968 short story “The Inquest.” Boasting a haunting score by none other than Arvo Pärt (Soviet-era Estonia coproduced the movie with Poland), it follows a star pilot faced with trying to determine who the mass-produced androids are amid his crew.

Among the other offerings, don’t miss 1963’s Icarus XB 1, with its stunning black-and-white space visuals and its killer electronic score. There are two full shorts programs, and director Ari Folman’s The Congress, a mix of wildly visual animation and live action, starring Robin Wright.

After you've taken a few trips into these odd and mesmerizing worlds, you'll have more than a few questions about the man who wrote the stories--one who managed to survive not just World War II and the Holocaust but the Cold War Soviet Union. Answer them by checking out the documentary Autor Solaris, a film that fills in a bit more background on a writer that was out of this world.

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