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The Mirror

Play trailer Poster for The Mirror Released Jan 1, 1975 1h 48m Drama Biography Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 28 Reviews 91% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Using a nonlinear structure interlaced with dreams and flashbacks, director Andrei Tarkovsky creates a stream-of-consciousness meditation on war, memory and time that draws heavily on events from his own life. Tarkovsky's film alter ego is Alexei (Ignat Daniltsev), a dying man in his 40s whose commonplace interactions with his wife (Margarita Terekhova) and children summon up a host of memories, ranging from his parents' divorce to his time on the battlefields of World War II.
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The Mirror

Critics Reviews

View All (28) Critics Reviews
Adam Kempenaar Filmspotting Tarkovsky exhibits an unmatched ability to transform the mundane into the miraculous. Rated: 4.5/5 May 12, 2023 Full Review Kate Muir Times (UK) The Mirror deserves a big-screen viewing, with its smorgasbord of memories in dream, drama and newsreel form from the life of a dying poet. Rated: 4/5 Oct 15, 2015 Full Review Anthony Lane New Yorker The smallest details (a stammering child, the wrinkle in the turned page of a book) stick like burrs, and we are left to wonder if any director has delved with more modesty and honesty into the heartbreak of the past. Aug 4, 2015 Full Review Brendan Cassidy InSession Film The Mirror is a masterwork of personal storytelling... Rated: B+ Jun 18, 2024 Full Review Dave Giannini InSession Film Tarkovsky's most difficult, and possible, most personal work. Rated: A Feb 28, 2024 Full Review Josh Larsen LarsenOnFilm ...offers mesmerizing moments when something indefinable penetrates the mundanity. Rated: 4/4 Apr 28, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Mason M What seems to be a disjointed exploration of a man's life through his scattered memories, may be difficult to understand or connect to, but was still an interesting film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/09/24 Full Review Michael F Andrei Tarkovsky’s "Mirror" stands as a poetic and introspective exploration of memory and history, defying traditional narrative structure and telling the story with a stream-of-consciousness approach that resembles the workings of the human mind. Many believe that the director intentionally uses recurring motifs such as mirrors, which symbolize self-reflection, to convey deeper meanings. However, Tarkovsky himself states that no symbols are present in this particular film, and all scenes are identically rebuilt from his own memories and dreams. Besides, the camerawork in the film put the audience into the director’s mind with an extremely subjective point of view, leading us into a world of haziness with distinct emotions. Overall, Mirror is a film that demands attention and contemplation, rewarding patient audiences with a profound emotional and intellectual experience. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/25/24 Full Review Alejandro E Like Swedish cinema, this example of Soviet cinema is built on symbolism. Example? That we are the mirror of other individuals, and vice versa. The fact that it is difficult to digest does not prevent you from savoring it. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/26/24 Full Review Anne D One word : masterpiece Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/28/24 Full Review Suruga D realy good cinematography, but to hard to understand Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/10/23 Full Review Dani G I really don't know what I think... It's a Tarkovsky film, so it's understandable Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Mirror

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Using a nonlinear structure interlaced with dreams and flashbacks, director Andrei Tarkovsky creates a stream-of-consciousness meditation on war, memory and time that draws heavily on events from his own life. Tarkovsky's film alter ego is Alexei (Ignat Daniltsev), a dying man in his 40s whose commonplace interactions with his wife (Margarita Terekhova) and children summon up a host of memories, ranging from his parents' divorce to his time on the battlefields of World War II.
Director
Andrei Tarkovsky
Producer
Erik Waisberg
Screenwriter
Andrei Tarkovsky, Aleksandr Misharin
Production Co
Mosfilm Unit 4, Doco Digital
Genre
Drama, Biography
Original Language
Russian
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 1, 1975, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 2, 2009
Runtime
1h 48m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.37:1)
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