Mirror (1975)

 

Genre: Drama

Time:  1 hour 48mins

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky

Quick Summary: A dying man in his forties remembers his past. His childhood, his mother, the war, personal moments and things that tell of the recent history of the Russian nation.

This entire film feels like poetry through visuals. It's all so mesmerising to watch.

The main focus of this that the nostalgia of memory and the past. Any feeling you can put towards those such as regret or even longing, this film portrays. It holds such small moments up to the light and idolises, showing how the smallest and simplest of things can stay with people.

Everything is shot so perfectly and in such a unique perspective. A lot of the time, the point of view is not entirely clear as people get mixed up as stated in this, which can make it hard to understand what is going on. As well there isn't actually a story to this, and there doesn't need to be. You're watching someone else's life through their memories and dreams, just simply sit back and experience.

Unfortunately, this film is hard to follow and understand, especially on the first viewing. As well as being entirely spoken in Russian, to most trying to follow the subtitles and visuals can be tricky so I do recommend more than one viewing for this to really set in.  After only watching this twice, there are still scenes that don't really make sense to me and seem very out of place. I was never really sure whose memories I was following for a long while.

I do like the concept of this as it tries to capture how life is, as lived in our minds. In the real world, in dreams, in fantasies, and in memories over an entire lifetime--all jumbled together. Though it is structured so different people will take this in different ways, as everyone has different opinions and thoughts. The viewer can make sense of it in their own way instead of this forcing you to view it one way.

I adored the dialogue as it was incredibly flowery. I was memorised by the words being spoken as much as the visuals. It's equally baffling as memorising. An incredibly unique film presented in such a stunning and wonderful way. You truly do feel like you're an observer of life.

Admittedly I did find the third portion of the film to be rather boring and slow as it focuses on World War Two which granted, I don't find interesting anyway. To contribute to this, there isn't really a score. It's just atmosphere sounds, such as footsteps, rain or wind. Which is very pretty to listen to, but someone scenes felt like they were not as engaging as they should have been.

I don't think I can fully explain my enjoyment of this film, though I will say it is definitely a required taste. Not a lot of people will enjoy this as it can be incredibly confusing. This is ultimately a film that is meant to be experienced rather than to be fully understood or explained.

7/10