The Mirror is the strongest film by the great Russian film poet Andrei Tarkovsky. This masterpiece conveys a magical, sometime terrifying childhood, through a series of spoken poems and thoughts illustrated by stunning, memorable images.
The Mirror is one of those few films that succeeds in being a pure poem of images and sounds, rather than a play or a novel. Its ethereal, intermingled structure evokes the lattice of our own childhood memories.
The film passes effortlessly between black and white and color, between thoughts and memories, and the camera glides between dreams, daydreams, nightmares and reality.
The Mirror is constantly painting the invisible. Wind, water and fire are leitmotifs that run through its imagery.
But even stronger than the elements, the film is imprinted by the luminous presence of the mother played by Margarita Terekhova.
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notes
The cinematography of The Mirror is by Georgi Rerberg.
Watch the 6 minute excerpt from the mirror
Andrei Tarkovsky’s other films include: Andrei Roublev, Nostalghia, The Sacrifice, Stalker and Solaris.
Wikipedia article about Andrei Tarkovsky
Ingmar Bergman reportedly said of his fellow director:
Tarkovsky for me is the greatest, the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream
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