Of the films that influenced Christopher Nolan’s “Inception,” none is so prominent as director Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1972 Soviet-era meditation on guilt entitled “Solaris.” But where Nolan opted to spend his two and a half hours on a faster, more viscerally exciting film, Tarkovsky chose to take his time. The final result is a film comprised of very beautiful photography, restrained sound design, and rich philosophic debate. The effect of these in unison is startling. Based on Polish author Stanislaw Lem’s novel of the same name, psychologist Kris Kelvin (Donatas Banionis) is summoned from Earth to determine the mental state of scientists aboard a space station orbiting a distant planet called Solaris who have reported strange hallucinations and happenings aboard. Kelvin anticipates an open-shut case upon his arrival. What he doesn’t anticipate are the physical manifestation of his deceased wife, Hari (Natalya Bondarchuk), aboard the station; the revelation that the planet below is a conscious being; and that all are inexorably linked. Tarkovsky’s slower approach is fascinating. Where Nolan’s film studies the concept of guilt from a psychological standpoint, Tarkovsky takes Lem’s concerns, guilt being the most prominent, and chooses to reflect philosophically, a move he repeated with his later film, 1979’s “Stalker.” For example, during the first act, Kelvin is warned about what to expect at Solaris while coming to terms with his imminent departure from Earth, a journey that will be moments to him and decades to others. Where James Cameron condensed a similar section of “Avatar” down to around 10 minutes, Tarkovsky spends a full 40 minutes on the dilemma. Upon Hari’s appearance, the philosophic dialogue only intensifies. By the end of the film, Kelvin’s guilt regarding the death of his wife and his choice to abandon his parents in their final years is almost overpowering, with the planet Solaris acting as a focal point for his inner turmoil and a shocking, powerful, and even terrifying release and conclusion to the film’s internalized debate echoed in last year’s “Knowing.” Though occasionally slow, “Solaris” is a brilliant science fiction film. 9.5 out of 10.