In "Solaris", love plays a major role in the plot. Chris, who is a psychologist, is taken to a space station which orbits the planet Solaris. Chris does not know why he is being taken there, but once he is there, he realizes that most of the people on the space station have either died or disappeared. Shortly after Chris arrives, he dreams about his dead wife, Rheya, and then a replica appears. At first, he sends the replica away, but when she appears again, he does everything he can to keep her. The other astronauts say that replicas of their lovers have appeared too. It is almost as if the planet Solaris understands that love can influence others more than anything. I also find it interesting that the astronauts would hire a psychologist to help them instead of a scientist. I think it shows that the problems from the planet are not scientific, but rather emotional. Love cannot really be understood scientifically because it plays with your heart and your head. We have been learning in class that love is a force that cannot be stopped. Therefore, by the planet using love as their weapon, they are using the most dangerous weapon of them all. If one is constantly bombarded by love, one can go crazy with grief. Desire also plays a role because Chris cannot let go of Rheya's replica because he remembers the times he used to have with her, but this is actually hurting his chances to go back to earth because it weighs down the space station. This shows how loves literally is weighing Chris down. Chris is so consumed by his desire for Rheya, even though he knows it is just a replica of her, that he cannot see straight. WE also learned in class that sometimes one can become blinded to reality because they are so consumed in love and desire. This occurs with Chris because he is so attached to Rheya's replica that he willingly opts out of his opportunity to go back to Earth when he can. Ultimately, the planet Solaris understands that people cannot resist their urges to obtain their desires. In the movie is states that "there are no answers, only choices". This is a universal theme in love and desire. There is always a double edged sword when it comes to love and desire. If we don't fulfill our desires, we are starving ourselves, but if we do fulfill them, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment and consequences. Therefore, the planet Solaris sets up this tricky question that in reality we have to choose everyday: do we engulf ourselves in our love and desires or do we do what is best for us?
Desire is a key factor in "I am Love". We see desire in the forms of the seven deadly sins: gluttony, greed, lust, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. Gluttony appears with the special Russian soup, "uhka". Both Edoardo Jr. and Emma simply cannot get enough of this soup. Therefore, they constantly indulge on it, even though the other family members do not like it, because they are both consumed by their desire of taste. Greed plays a major role with most of the family especially Tancredi. Tancredi desires to be rich so badly that he will basically do anything to inherit his father's business even naming his son after his father. Once he does inherit the business, instead of continuing it, he immediately seeks out buyers for it. Tancredi has no sense of the value of handwork or money, he merely is consumed with his greed. Lust plays a role with Emma because this is what ultimately leads her to having an affair with Antonio, but this also occurs with her daughter, Elisabetta. Emma finds out that Elisabetta is a lesbian and cannot control her sexual urges for sex with other women. Elisabetta lets herself become engulfed in the need for sex without any control. Sloth plays another part with Tancredi again because he is constantly lazy. He does not understand the concept of working hard to earn money, he simply wants it handed to him. Wrath appears in the story when Edoardo Jr. becomes so upset about finding out his mother has an affair that he storm away from the table. Because Edoardo Jr. is so consumed by his anger, this is what leads to his death because he cannot think rationally. Envy plays a role because Tancredi is extremely jealous of the wealth and power his father has. Tancredi wants to be the patriarch, but he cannot because Edoardo Sr. is. The very last deadly sin is pride which is seen a lot with Edoardo Sr. Edoardo Sr. is so wrapped up in the fact that he is the patriarch of the family and that he is rich that he becomes so arrogant of his role in the family rather than being humbled by it. Therefore, desire does play a major role in the plot, but I also wanted to point out other things that relate to the class. For one, Emma in the movie resembles Madame Bovary very well. Both women are not content with their boring lives as housewives, thus they seek out passion by having affairs with other men. This brings up the universal question: should women sacrifice their happiness to live up to society's standards? Personally, I do not think women should be forced to do this. Both Emma's were trapped in unhappy, boring marriages, and I do not think that they did anything wrong by fulfilling their love and desires with someone else.
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