Solaris (1972)

In Tarkovsky’s first foray into science fiction, psychologist Kris Kelvin travels to a distant space station, a research post dedicated to studying a planet covered by a sentient ocean called Solaris. Boarding the station, he discovers the science crew besieged with strange and confusing visions. The next day, he awakes to find a living apparition of his late wife, Hari, sitting next to him.

Set against a surreal science fiction narrative, Solaris is a meditation on slow-moving grief, and ways in which we attempt to reconcile the absence of loved ones who have passed on.