My wife just wanted to watch this, having never seen it and she asked me if I think she'd like it. I said I don't know, it is unlike anything you've ever seen. Try to see it more as art and less as a movie. For me, it is a certified top 100 and that's where it will always be. She is currently watching it, I was doing very important other stuff (gaming) so I couldn't join. I went down for a drink, and she is like not even in the room mentally, she's totally into it. I love my wife a bit more now I think.
this is the first Andrei Tarkovsky's film i started with, at the end i was like "wtf did i watched!" i had watched like 3 time to understand. still to this day i watched all time it gives me first watching vibe.
I absolutely love what Tarkovsky does with the camera and colors. Everything feels so natural and hypnotic, not to mention he puts showing above the telling
Tarkovskian cinema has a very different style of filmmaking. Tarkovsky mostly does camera zoom-ins and zoom-outs, slow-paced camera movements and never uses a lot of shots and no intensive editing... The tarkovskian style of filmmaking makes the movie very beautiful in a poetic manner.
I say read as much as you can about the film before watching it. This will help you understand the shifts in time and what's going on historically. Don't worry about anything being given away. It's not a film you watch for unexpected plot twists and there is no surprise ending that will be spoiled if you read-up on it first. Even after you've seen the film several times it becomes a deeper and more moving experience with each viewing.
@@LearningaboutMovies One should absolutely expect to watch it at least a dozen times. I can't speak to a first impression in a theatre, having first stumbled across the work on daytime TV, where I was fascinated but absolutely convinced someone had messed up the reel order.
this is my favorite Tarkovsky movie, it's the most personal film I've ever seen by anyone. I think the intro scene with the stuttering boy is an invitation to go past the stuttering narratives we create for ourselves about our reality and dive into the raw unedited experiences of our brain reflecting reality in mental images as we move through it. I really enjoy rewathcing it because in it I think Tarkovsky somehow managed to recreate this unique feel of being a child, somehow, in those childhood scenes in the rural house etc and it's beautifully shot, some frames are like renaissance paintings, the burning house or the woman sitting on the fence or that guy walking away from her and then turning back to look and the wind starts blowing from him towards her. Also there's this powerful message throughout the movie that ultimately locked inside our brain we can never really be sure about what's real and what isn't, like that story about the protagonist's mom and how she thought she made an error and rushes to the printing factory to check and it turns out it's ok, but she was sure she'd mixed up some letters or something. I don't know it's just one of those super awesome movies.
Thank you for that insightful comment. Mirror is probably top of my list of great movies.... I always like very cinemagraphic movies where perhaps style over substance prevails. You cannot say that of Mirror; where the style is the basic fabric of the film. Your comment over the opening sequence has clarified what I love about this movie. It is about that unreliable and reconstructive aspect of memory. Having watched the movie many times over... sadly not in a movie theatre , I always enjoy the snapshots of life, the frisson of relationships new and broken, the casting of nature as one of the actors (that wind rippling over the grass) and the fact that it is a beautiful, beautiful film.
I watched this movie today , and loved it. It made me feel like a kid walking around a gallery, looking at lots of classic pieces of art which I didn’t fully understand but knew it was powerful and significant. It was stunning and like Stalker has influenced me in many ways.
I just watched this while under the influence of psychedelics, and I was profoundly moved. I have seen it a few times before, and already loved it, but I've never sat there and cried the whole time over the shear beauty of it. It exists purely in the realm of the senses and the emotions, and those sensual and emotional elements enthralled me in that particular mindstate. One of my favorite films ever.
Quintessentially Mirror is about mirrors that mirror anything in front of it or passes it by. You can not ignore the extensive use of so many mirrors at different points in the movie. Try interpreting the mirroring of past and present through these mirrors and the myriad images it make while placed between two mirrors. This film is a very complex one, one of the most among the thousands of films I’ve watched over a long peripatetic life. After all Tarkovsky was a very complex genius, so anything to do with his autobiography got to be infinitely complex. I feel before trying to fully comprehend his films, which could be well nigh impossible, one should try to simply absorb their visual beauty. Some sorts of understanding will come after multiple viewings.
This was the very first Tarkovsky movie I saw 15 years ago, when I was studying pure & applied math. It was a mind blowing experience. I was completely unable to process the plot logically - it felt like that CPU part of my brain had been switched off and I was put in hypnosis by the synthesis of my visual and audio senses. I even felt a little dizzy. At the same time, I felt a very strong emotional connection which I could not explain in words (like it touched something very deep in my childhood memories, like a dream that you cannot recall after you wake up). It probably feels like being on some kind of drugs. This movie had a huge impact on me - it was the first time I Googled all I could find what it was all about and how to interpret it. I also agree with other comments that many scenes of this movie look like Renaissance paintings, with Tarkovsky's father's poetry recited in the background (I am lucky to understand Russian). The Mirror instilled in me a deep appreciation of uninterrupted, slow, visually aesthetic camera shots (i.e. trees and grass moving in a wind). Only recently I rewatched it for the second time, mainly because I did not want the ruin the magic I felt many years ago.
The movie is a visceral attack on all the senses like the movie Dunkirk. My jaw hit the floor when that apparition flew past the door near the beginning. It’s an absolute mind-bender and it is relatable because afterwards when you think of your own life and memories it knits together with how Tarkovsky told his life. This is the one thing every single person on the planet does daily - present, past, present, past etc.
(Sorry if my english is bad, it’s because im danish, so yeah. Just a reminder if there is some misspeling or some things that dont make sense ;) This is in my top 5 movies of All time. There is alot of reasons Why, and one of Them being how personaly it is. By that, i mean that it took certain themes up, that we dont usually Think about. For an example, The scene were The Mother looks in that glass sort of thing, is for me a Dark thruth that we dont Think about. We dont Think about how things is going to end for us. We dont Think about, when life is going to end. And so on. So it kinda reprecents a Dark thuth, that the we All kinda forgets. Another scene (which is Actually my favourite movie scene of All time) is The scene were The camera zooms in on a cup or something like that, were there was left a fingerprint i belive. There is really dramatic Music on in that scene, and it represens how scary it Actually is when something disapears. A Big thing or a small thing, it’s still very scary. Im only 14, and right since i saw this movie for The fist time, i have been thinking about The disapperance of certain things in life, and i Think that you Can Call a movie a masterpiece, when it Can make a 14 year Old Think that much about something that “simple” if you know what i mean. And then there is alot of other personale things that this movies does for me, but im not going to Write that Down here, because it Will take forever. So i Will Call it The second best not-english film, and that Says alot.
Im a 16 year old norwegian film lover and reading about your experience with this film really inspired me! It's amazing seeing other young people, like myself, who seek movies with a deeper point of view on reality and dreams. Also, great English!
I have this movie on DVD and am obsessed with commentaries. This DVD came with a bonus where they told a story of Tarkovsky showing this film to a room full of intellectuals who spent a significant amount of time after the movie was finished, arguing about its meaning. At some point the cleaning lady came in and said, “It’s an autobiography about his life and he’s looking back at certain aspects.” Tarkovsky gave her an approving nod. The intellectuals just stared at one another and left. I don’t know if the story is true, but I sure got a kick out of it. 😂
it's just that people sometimes tend to think too much and read too much into stuff plus we're accustomed to these linear narratives and this movie well, it's one of those movies that is to be experienced rather processed consciously, for me watching it has always been akin to going on a drug induced trip, it's always been about getting lost in it, in every scene.
I can’t believe I watched this movie twice and I never picked up on the Dante allusions thank you very much! My first watch I was blown away but my second I was a little underwhelmed so I’m not quite sure where this stands for me and the rest of Tarkovsky’s world, particularly my other favorites Stalker & Nostalgia.
watch it at the age Tarkovsky was when he made it -- middle-age. As with all movies, they hit us differently at different periods of our life, but I am guessing that this is an ideal movie for 40, and certainly not great for 20, except those with great or budding artistic visions.
i really love the colors, vibes, places and how he delivers messages in unique storyline. feels unpredictable at first but inspiring at the end. Tarkovsky's movies always make me confused at the beginning, but also end up with, "ah, i got it. it's so cool. he's so smart" and it makes me want to watch it again just to see the detail. so good.
Small comment if you please. The father of the hero left the family (not just didn’t come back from war) and the hero himself divorces later his own wife so his son has the same wound of leaving father. the family scenarios repeat themselves in some way as well as the author associate the figure of his mother and his wife. He is full of sorrow and regrets and somehow this movie represents his confession. It’s just one of the layers I am able to understand from knowing authors biography
Picking between Solaris, Stalker, Mirror and Andrei Rublev, I would go with Mirror as my favorite Tarkovsky movie, simply because I felt that the entire movie was Tarkovsky's reflection through his own accounts of what happened in Russia during his life.... While other movies were fantasy based (Solaris & Stalker, especially) Mirror was reality and story of Tarkovsky himself... This is also evident from the fact that he used his parents in the movie, giving it an even more personal touch...
I've seen this twice now and it got better, more moving even, the second time. Tarkovsky makes films that you feel comfortable comparing with masterpieces of other art forms--literature, music, painting. It did not feel out of place to hear Bach or see a Leonardo here, but instead felt like the film, the music, and the painting were all of equal stature. That is obviously very rare (maybe even unique) in cinema. Thanks for this review.
Loved this vid popping up on my home page. I saw it a couple years ago when I started exploring foreign film and digging into Tarkovsky’s work. I desperately need to rewatch. It is amazing how meditative his films are where you feel entranced and glued to the screen for the entire time but in such a philosophical and spiritual way. Unlike any other filmmaker. I just saw Nostalgia for the first time last week. Love the channel btw!!
My tip of veil. For me one important key of the movie is about communication and the trouble 'we' have with it. Russia in the seventies were ruled by communism, there was no freedom of speech. Every scene is reflecting an aspect of communication and its limits. The images are poëtic and dialogues and monologues also. Its very reflective for ear and eye, it stimulates our capability to project our mind in every sense.The first scène is about a boy who stutters. Remarkable: you can see the reflection (shadow) of a microphone... etc etc. The confusing structure of the movie was also a method to evade censorship. Watching it for the first time is a strange experience, but understanding it like a brilliant cinematographic poem can be an emotional trip.
Thank you. Just finished watching the movie - 2nd time around in the last 3-5 years. Your analysis, as always, has helped me understand this unusual movie.
It's interesting trivia to know that the original title of the work was going to be "A Beautiful Day", considering that the film's foundation is the last day of a dying poet. The film is his "life flashing before your eyes". Somehow, in a way that is never going to be completely comprehensible, it all comes together for him on this last, beautiful day of his life. I for one love the enigmatic structure of the film. Aren't even our own lives a mystery to us? Can anyone but God ultimately know their meaning, since they form part of a tapestry that is far greater than we are able to grasp? These are the deepest questions we can ask about ourselves, and Tarkovsky prompts them and somehow captures them in this film, in its mysterious form and content. You can watch it over and over and it never gets old, but gets more meaningful and more mysterious with each viewing. Two other films I feel very similarly about are Renoir's "Rules of the Game" and Malick's "Tree of Life". What does it mean to be human? Why do we die when all of life is teeming with seemingly inexahustible meaning and energy around us? Is it life or is it death that is ultimately the "accident"? Because these three films delve into these questions so powerfully, they are really inexhaustible in my opinion, and allow us to slowly but surely learn what it means to live a truly human life. Thanks for being open to such great art, and introducing it to many on this channel!
Also in Finland, in the past boys' hair was cut very short for the summer. Nothing to do with lice in itself, although I'm sure there were some in many households in the rural areas. The landscape scenes of the movie are a perfect match for southern Finland. We're the same country.
it's one of the greatest advertisements for the US air force. I remember it well since it came out when I was a kid. I'm not sure what people a generation younger than me think of it. Would be interesting to know.
This is the type of movie i have to watch 2 or 3 times. I at first was a bit bored but i kept on watching and felt pretty rewarded at the end. pretty cool
This came up on my YT list of suggested videos (I know there's a shorter name for this, I just can't recall what it is). Anywhats, I'm glad for this summary.
The shot of the house burning down with the water dripping down in the foreground somehow is cinematic magic in its purest form. Why? I can't properly explain and I wouldn't want to try. Just like I feel about the rest of the movie.
Reminds me of Requem for a Dream (2000) by Aronofsky (no pun intended). The outdoor scenery reminds me of the sweeping shots they did in Twilight of the forests.
If i were to make a order of my favourite movies by tarkovsky it would be like this: 1.Stalker 2.Andrei Rublev 3.Ivans childhood 4.The mirror 5.Nostalghia 6.The sacrifice 7.Solaris
Great video! I absolutely love this film - my favourite Tarkovsky film, and probably my favourite of all time. I just watched ‘The Sacrifice’ and almost loved it as much as this - I’d be interested in hearing what you have to say about that film too. Thanks!
Thanks for this analysis. I just wish to point out a couple of mistakes you've made. At 2'10" you say that Alexey, as an older boy, was trained to fight in WWII. This is a mistake. The scene depicts a class in the so-called Introduction to Military Training (abbreviated in Russian as NVP), a course that was part of standard school curriculum in grades 9 and 10 (2 last years in Soviet schools). The teenagers were not trained to fight in WWII. It was a regular class for them. Moreover, the visual component you provide for this comment is also wrong. You show Alexey's classmate, not Alexey (the narrator). The boy you show is a survivor of the horrific Siege of Leningrad. The boy's parents died and he obviously suffers from the PTSD as he cannot adequately relate to what the teacher says and moves like an automaton. Another mistake you make is at 2'34" when you say that the narrator's Father left his beautiful wife to go to war. This is not so. The Father left the family in 1935 (in the film); he visited the family though during the war.
i had watched this movie 2 days back & was left clueless after finishing it ... but I was quite amused by the intensity & the execution of some really long & beautiful shots though. Thanks for clearing the chaos out.
This is a true story. I am an aspiring filmmaker. And I had never seen this movie up until as of today (July 27, 2021). About a week ago it occured to make a film about poignant moments of my life. And even today, prior to the start of the film, I was thinking about writing down the images about different moments of my life without any detail or explanation. Little did I know that this was similar to what Mirror is about.
Dr Joshua you are unpaparalled in terms of film analysis , accessibility and discussion of film as art Dash art imitating life - and a breaking down the visual and a cinematic sub text without tender or patronizing. Your half ability and camera friend liness are quite the asset to your audience
Great commentary. We think a story has to be linear because in life there is a birth (beginning), there is growth, there is old age (maturity) and death (the end). But life within these broad milestones is nonlinear. That in my view is Mirror is all about.
I agree. I would watch Ivan's Childhood first. (Might've said that in my Tarkovsky video, but I think that one is not only easiest but very helpful in deciphering parts of Mirror.)
@@LearningaboutMovies I watched stalker first (needed to see it twice to really appreciate it tho) then Ivan’s child hood love both but I agree on Ivan’s childhood being the easiest one to get into
I did enjoy this movie and let it wash over me (literally, a lot of water), i wasn't sure how much to ponder the poetry, so took some in more than others ... the way the images run together is smooth, and I was expecting the film to go longer, so next time I see it I'll condense my attention on the details more. as for the female leads, i thought the wife and young mother were the same actress often, so i need to clarify that next viewing,,, but yes, the 'mirror' can be so many things; our relation to film, our relation to nature, the relation b/n generations ... good stuff 👍
thank you. I don't recall, other than that she's panicked about a mistake, and that scene ends with the narrator reading one of Tarkovsky's father's poems. Perhaps someone can tell us what's at stake in that scene.
Hello, the printing scene takes place during the time of Stalin totalitarian regimen. A misprint that the heroine thinks she’ve made could cost jobs and even lives for people working in the printing factory. That’s why she rushes there to check. There was a word (which is not specified in the movie) that in case of misprint would sound somehow inappropriate. Luckily a mistake hasn’t been made. So there is a political context here
To me that is the standout, most chilling scene of the film. She thought she may have made a newspaper typo that would've been critical or insulting towards Russia's harsh dictator Stalin. Had that typo gone through, been printed and distributed to the public she would have been in very deep doo-doo. In real life she likely would have been sent off to the Gulag and maybe never heard from or seen again on the outside. That scene and it's message is monumental in what it is saying.
I saw the movie today and i feel strange now. Because from what i understand from the film Tarkovsky's puts you in a space where the plot has less meaning, but the words that Tarkovsky/Aleksej said they let you nostalgic in some way. its like the little talk you do with your friends about grow up and no longer be children.
Beautifully shot but I couldn't get my head around it haha. I bet if I researched the poems or the literature/authors he alluded to it would make me understand what he's trying to convey more but that's too much digging for me haha. You can definitely still appreciate this movie though!
Cure for insomnia top 5 1 story of the last chrisantemus 2 andrei rublev 3 stalker 4 the last year at marienbad 5 solarys Mirror ...is a good one ..the Best of tarkowsky
@@LearningaboutMovies yeah l just finished it l did't really stayed focus l felt a sleep a bit but l liked the ambianece the air of russie. One day l'll watch it again.
Lonely esoteric diamond in cinema sky Andrei tarkovsky All opus So Gentle Evokativ Mistic Beaitiful pure Poetry Unique in Solar system Mirror Antonio vivaldi L estro armonico Branderburg concerto Al Bach Joy division Closer Heart and soul Eternal Decades Greetings from Croatia
As a film enjoyer (not a film maker) I have accepted the bitter truth of Tarkovsky's movies are not for me. Love his style, love his cinematography... but I hate his storytelling. He nevers evokes ANYTHING to me. I leave empty out of 2 hours. And let me highlight: I enjoy artistic movies. I've am close to 2500 movies under my belt total but still can't seem to enjoy his work.
His movies often center around the Christian understanding of redemption. This however will not be apparent to most including Protestants. An Orthodox or traditional Catholic Christian will see it though
Sorry for my english. Interesting point of these movie, in his own diary Trakovsky wrote about it like his a debt to son. If you like movie, i can recommend you read scenario to this. It was especially experience because written like interesting book with scenes what didn't added to film
Just watched this for the first time. Went in expecting to be blown away because I did like stalker and Solaris, but this one I couldn't really get into. I found some of the immagery nice, but idk I guess I just couldn't get into it.
This is the movie masterpice, i love more Bergman or Fellini but this 3 Europian directors are too good for Hollywood, i knows that Europians director are Hitchcock and so many others but when i think of Europian directors i think of they own language
Idk, visually its good but that's all, it fails as a movie for me, too vague, perhaps there's people who like visual and sound magic, not for me i guess.
I believe Solaris is better and Andrei Rublev is the very best of Tarkovsky. This film is just too confusing, most especially since the younger version of the mother and the wife are portrayed by the exact same person. It is better to read a summary of the plot before seeing this confusing film.
I never understood this film, and as a result didn't find any value in it. Yes I understand where Tarkovsky was coming from, but the narrative became too abstract and convoluted as the film went on. As a result, I found it extremely difficult to engage with the story and glean any messages or Ideas from it. To be honest, his other films such as Stalker, Solaris, and Ivan's Childhood are leagues beyond this one.
It's weird, I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone but at the same time I would love that every single person watches this masterpiece.
I agree.
My wife just wanted to watch this, having never seen it and she asked me if I think she'd like it. I said I don't know, it is unlike anything you've ever seen. Try to see it more as art and less as a movie. For me, it is a certified top 100 and that's where it will always be. She is currently watching it, I was doing very important other stuff (gaming) so I couldn't join. I went down for a drink, and she is like not even in the room mentally, she's totally into it. I love my wife a bit more now I think.
this is the first Andrei Tarkovsky's film i started with, at the end i was like "wtf did i watched!" i had watched like 3 time to understand. still to this day i watched all time it gives me first watching vibe.
Just saw it and loved it 😊
omg yes!!
I absolutely love what Tarkovsky does with the camera and colors. Everything feels so natural and hypnotic, not to mention he puts showing above the telling
yes, good comment. thanks.
Tarkovskian cinema has a very different style of filmmaking. Tarkovsky mostly does camera zoom-ins and zoom-outs, slow-paced camera movements and never uses a lot of shots and no intensive editing... The tarkovskian style of filmmaking makes the movie very beautiful in a poetic manner.
I say read as much as you can about the film before watching it. This will help you understand the shifts in time and what's going on historically. Don't worry about anything being given away. It's not a film you watch for unexpected plot twists and there is no surprise ending that will be spoiled if you read-up on it first. Even after you've seen the film several times it becomes a deeper and more moving experience with each viewing.
very reasonable. thank you.
@@LearningaboutMovies One should absolutely expect to watch it at least a dozen times. I can't speak to a first impression in a theatre, having first stumbled across the work on daytime TV, where I was fascinated but absolutely convinced someone had messed up the reel order.
this is my favorite Tarkovsky movie, it's the most personal film I've ever seen by anyone. I think the intro scene with the stuttering boy is an invitation to go past the stuttering narratives we create for ourselves about our reality and dive into the raw unedited experiences of our brain reflecting reality in mental images as we move through it. I really enjoy rewathcing it because in it I think Tarkovsky somehow managed to recreate this unique feel of being a child, somehow, in those childhood scenes in the rural house etc and it's beautifully shot, some frames are like renaissance paintings, the burning house or the woman sitting on the fence or that guy walking away from her and then turning back to look and the wind starts blowing from him towards her.
Also there's this powerful message throughout the movie that ultimately locked inside our brain we can never really be sure about what's real and what isn't, like that story about the protagonist's mom and how she thought she made an error and rushes to the printing factory to check and it turns out it's ok, but she was sure she'd mixed up some letters or something. I don't know it's just one of those super awesome movies.
excellent comment. thank you.
Thank you for that insightful comment. Mirror is probably top of my list of great movies.... I always like very cinemagraphic movies where perhaps style over substance prevails. You cannot say that of Mirror; where the style is the basic fabric of the film. Your comment over the opening sequence has clarified what I love about this movie. It is about that unreliable and reconstructive aspect of memory. Having watched the movie many times over... sadly not in a movie theatre , I always enjoy the snapshots of life, the frisson of relationships new and broken, the casting of nature as one of the actors (that wind rippling over the grass) and the fact that it is a beautiful, beautiful film.
I watched this movie today , and loved it. It made me feel like a kid walking around a gallery, looking at lots of classic pieces of art which I didn’t fully understand but knew it was powerful and significant. It was stunning and like Stalker has influenced me in many ways.
excellent, thank you.
I just watched this while under the influence of psychedelics, and I was profoundly moved. I have seen it a few times before, and already loved it, but I've never sat there and cried the whole time over the shear beauty of it. It exists purely in the realm of the senses and the emotions, and those sensual and emotional elements enthralled me in that particular mindstate. One of my favorite films ever.
Quintessentially Mirror is about mirrors that mirror anything in front of it or passes it by. You can not ignore the extensive use of so many mirrors at different points in the movie. Try interpreting the mirroring of past and present through these mirrors and the myriad images it make while placed between two mirrors.
This film is a very complex one, one of the most among the thousands of films I’ve watched over a long peripatetic life. After all Tarkovsky was a very complex genius, so anything to do with his autobiography got to be infinitely complex. I feel before trying to fully comprehend his films, which could be well nigh impossible, one should try to simply absorb their visual beauty. Some sorts of understanding will come after multiple viewings.
This was the very first Tarkovsky movie I saw 15 years ago, when I was studying pure & applied math. It was a mind blowing experience. I was completely unable to process the plot logically - it felt like that CPU part of my brain had been switched off and I was put in hypnosis by the synthesis of my visual and audio senses. I even felt a little dizzy. At the same time, I felt a very strong emotional connection which I could not explain in words (like it touched something very deep in my childhood memories, like a dream that you cannot recall after you wake up). It probably feels like being on some kind of drugs. This movie had a huge impact on me - it was the first time I Googled all I could find what it was all about and how to interpret it. I also agree with other comments that many scenes of this movie look like Renaissance paintings, with Tarkovsky's father's poetry recited in the background (I am lucky to understand Russian). The Mirror instilled in me a deep appreciation of uninterrupted, slow, visually aesthetic camera shots (i.e. trees and grass moving in a wind). Only recently I rewatched it for the second time, mainly because I did not want the ruin the magic I felt many years ago.
excellent comment, thank you.
Just finished the film and this review really helped me unpacked what I watched. What a beautiful work of art
great. thank you. help is always warranted with challenging works.
The movie is a visceral attack on all the senses like the movie Dunkirk. My jaw hit the floor when that apparition flew past the door near the beginning. It’s an absolute mind-bender and it is relatable because afterwards when you think of your own life and memories it knits together with how Tarkovsky told his life. This is the one thing every single person on the planet does daily - present, past, present, past etc.
thank you.
(Sorry if my english is bad, it’s because im danish, so yeah. Just a reminder if there is some misspeling or some things that dont make sense ;)
This is in my top 5 movies of All time. There is alot of reasons Why, and one of Them being how personaly it is. By that, i mean that it took certain themes up, that we dont usually Think about. For an example, The scene were The Mother looks in that glass sort of thing, is for me a Dark thruth that we dont Think about. We dont Think about how things is going to end for us. We dont Think about, when life is going to end. And so on. So it kinda reprecents a Dark thuth, that the we All kinda forgets. Another scene (which is Actually my favourite movie scene of All time) is The scene were The camera zooms in on a cup or something like that, were there was left a fingerprint i belive. There is really dramatic Music on in that scene, and it represens how scary it Actually is when something disapears. A Big thing or a small thing, it’s still very scary. Im only 14, and right since i saw this movie for The fist time, i have been thinking about The disapperance of certain things in life, and i Think that you Can Call a movie a masterpiece, when it Can make a 14 year Old Think that much about something that “simple” if you know what i mean.
And then there is alot of other personale things that this movies does for me, but im not going to Write that Down here, because it Will take forever.
So i Will Call it The second best not-english film, and that Says alot.
your English is fine! only 14 and watching Tarkovsky?! you have a good start to your adult life, young man. pursue the excellent and the beautiful.
Im a 16 year old norwegian film lover and reading about your experience with this film really inspired me!
It's amazing seeing other young people, like myself, who seek movies with a deeper point of view on reality and dreams.
Also, great English!
Now I'm curious to know what's the first movie on your list
@@nehashrimali123 it’s Carl Theodor Dreyers “The Passion of Joan of Arc”.
@@lukasjensen6158 aaye, thanks! I'm gonna watch it now and will come back here after I do :)
I have this movie on DVD and am obsessed with commentaries. This DVD came with a bonus where they told a story of Tarkovsky showing this film to a room full of intellectuals who spent a significant amount of time after the movie was finished, arguing about its meaning. At some point the cleaning lady came in and said, “It’s an autobiography about his life and he’s looking back at certain aspects.” Tarkovsky gave her an approving nod. The intellectuals just stared at one another and left.
I don’t know if the story is true, but I sure got a kick out of it. 😂
sounds apocryphal, but very funny!
it's just that people sometimes tend to think too much and read too much into stuff plus we're accustomed to these linear narratives and this movie well, it's one of those movies that is to be experienced rather processed consciously, for me watching it has always been akin to going on a drug induced trip, it's always been about getting lost in it, in every scene.
I can’t believe I watched this movie twice and I never picked up on the Dante allusions thank you very much!
My first watch I was blown away but my second I was a little underwhelmed so I’m not quite sure where this stands for me and the rest of Tarkovsky’s world, particularly my other favorites Stalker & Nostalgia.
watch it at the age Tarkovsky was when he made it -- middle-age. As with all movies, they hit us differently at different periods of our life, but I am guessing that this is an ideal movie for 40, and certainly not great for 20, except those with great or budding artistic visions.
Rarely have I seen a movie were literally every frame is a painting (another one could be Malick's Days of Heaven)
yes!
And the best one is Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, released in the exact same year as Mirror.
Peter Greenaway´s movies too!!
i really love the colors, vibes, places and how he delivers messages in unique storyline. feels unpredictable at first but inspiring at the end.
Tarkovsky's movies always make me confused at the beginning, but also end up with, "ah, i got it. it's so cool. he's so smart" and it makes me want to watch it again just to see the detail. so good.
Small comment if you please. The father of the hero left the family (not just didn’t come back from war) and the hero himself divorces later his own wife so his son has the same wound of leaving father. the family scenarios repeat themselves in some way as well as the author associate the figure of his mother and his wife. He is full of sorrow and regrets and somehow this movie represents his confession. It’s just one of the layers I am able to understand from knowing authors biography
that's excellent. thank you.
I love this movie, but Nostalghia affected me more really emotionally. But this is certainly my second favorite Tarkovsky movie.
excellent. thank you.
Don't leave us hanging ! What movie makes the first place? :D
@@brunofrisk1516 It's Nostalghia.
The most beautiful, poetic film l've ever seen. Just watch it without preanalysis. It is primarily a visual visitation of the soul. There's no words
Picking between Solaris, Stalker, Mirror and Andrei Rublev, I would go with Mirror as my favorite Tarkovsky movie, simply because I felt that the entire movie was Tarkovsky's reflection through his own accounts of what happened in Russia during his life.... While other movies were fantasy based (Solaris & Stalker, especially) Mirror was reality and story of Tarkovsky himself... This is also evident from the fact that he used his parents in the movie, giving it an even more personal touch...
thank you,.
@@deadlymmxxi3256 Solaris.. I loved how tarkovsky blended sci-fi and consciousness in Solaris
I've seen this twice now and it got better, more moving even, the second time. Tarkovsky makes films that you feel comfortable comparing with masterpieces of other art forms--literature, music, painting. It did not feel out of place to hear Bach or see a Leonardo here, but instead felt like the film, the music, and the painting were all of equal stature. That is obviously very rare (maybe even unique) in cinema. Thanks for this review.
you're welcome. thanks for this thoughtful comment.
“life imitates art” I think it’s the best way to describe this film
Loved this vid popping up on my home page. I saw it a couple years ago when I started exploring foreign film and digging into Tarkovsky’s work. I desperately need to rewatch. It is amazing how meditative his films are where you feel entranced and glued to the screen for the entire time but in such a philosophical and spiritual way. Unlike any other filmmaker. I just saw Nostalgia for the first time last week. Love the channel btw!!
thank you very much!
My tip of veil. For me one important key of the movie is about communication and the trouble 'we' have with it. Russia in the seventies were ruled by communism, there was no freedom of speech. Every scene is reflecting an aspect of communication and its limits. The images are poëtic and dialogues and monologues also. Its very reflective for ear and eye, it stimulates our capability to project our mind in every sense.The first scène is about a boy who stutters. Remarkable: you can see the reflection (shadow) of a microphone... etc etc.
The confusing structure of the movie was also a method to evade censorship. Watching it for the first time is a strange experience, but understanding it like a brilliant cinematographic poem can be an emotional trip.
Thank you. Just finished watching the movie - 2nd time around in the last 3-5 years. Your analysis, as always, has helped me understand this unusual movie.
you're welcome.
It's interesting trivia to know that the original title of the work was going to be "A Beautiful Day", considering that the film's foundation is the last day of a dying poet. The film is his "life flashing before your eyes". Somehow, in a way that is never going to be completely comprehensible, it all comes together for him on this last, beautiful day of his life. I for one love the enigmatic structure of the film. Aren't even our own lives a mystery to us? Can anyone but God ultimately know their meaning, since they form part of a tapestry that is far greater than we are able to grasp? These are the deepest questions we can ask about ourselves, and Tarkovsky prompts them and somehow captures them in this film, in its mysterious form and content. You can watch it over and over and it never gets old, but gets more meaningful and more mysterious with each viewing. Two other films I feel very similarly about are Renoir's "Rules of the Game" and Malick's "Tree of Life". What does it mean to be human? Why do we die when all of life is teeming with seemingly inexahustible meaning and energy around us? Is it life or is it death that is ultimately the "accident"? Because these three films delve into these questions so powerfully, they are really inexhaustible in my opinion, and allow us to slowly but surely learn what it means to live a truly human life. Thanks for being open to such great art, and introducing it to many on this channel!
1:16 nice touch by Tarkovsky
Yes!
Saw this movie when I was only about 16 years old. Never forgotten it. A true masterpiece.
Also in Finland, in the past boys' hair was cut very short for the summer. Nothing to do with lice in itself, although I'm sure there were some in many households in the rural areas.
The landscape scenes of the movie are a perfect match for southern Finland. We're the same country.
I saw this movie a month ago in a theater. It's good, but intense. Definitely liked the paint falling scene.
yes!
@@LearningaboutMovies I need to see Top Gun
it's one of the greatest advertisements for the US air force. I remember it well since it came out when I was a kid. I'm not sure what people a generation younger than me think of it. Would be interesting to know.
@@LearningaboutMovies It's out on 4k
wow, let me know how it looks.
This is the type of movie i have to watch 2 or 3 times. I at first was a bit bored but i kept on watching and felt pretty rewarded at the end. pretty cool
maybe better on rewatching, for most people.
Perfect!!!! My favorite director and so brilliantly described and analyzed by you, thank you!
you're welcome.
This came up on my YT list of suggested videos (I know there's a shorter name for this, I just can't recall what it is). Anywhats, I'm glad for this summary.
The shot of the house burning down with the water dripping down in the foreground somehow is cinematic magic in its purest form. Why? I can't properly explain and I wouldn't want to try. Just like I feel about the rest of the movie.
Reminds me of Requem for a Dream (2000) by Aronofsky (no pun intended). The outdoor scenery reminds me of the sweeping shots they did in Twilight of the forests.
If i were to make a order of my favourite movies by tarkovsky it would be like this:
1.Stalker
2.Andrei Rublev
3.Ivans childhood
4.The mirror
5.Nostalghia
6.The sacrifice
7.Solaris
excellent, thank you.
Great video! I absolutely love this film - my favourite Tarkovsky film, and probably my favourite of all time. I just watched ‘The Sacrifice’ and almost loved it as much as this - I’d be interested in hearing what you have to say about that film too. Thanks!
thank you. it's up there on my list, one of the great movies ever in my view, though not good at all for a casual viewing.
my first Tarkovsky movie and it was wow.
Thanks for this analysis. I just wish to point out a couple of mistakes you've made. At 2'10" you say that Alexey, as an older boy, was trained to fight in WWII. This is a mistake. The scene depicts a class in the so-called Introduction to Military Training (abbreviated in Russian as NVP), a course that was part of standard school curriculum in grades 9 and 10 (2 last years in Soviet schools). The teenagers were not trained to fight in WWII. It was a regular class for them. Moreover, the visual component you provide for this comment is also wrong. You show Alexey's classmate, not Alexey (the narrator). The boy you show is a survivor of the horrific Siege of Leningrad. The boy's parents died and he obviously suffers from the PTSD as he cannot adequately relate to what the teacher says and moves like an automaton. Another mistake you make is at 2'34" when you say that the narrator's Father left his beautiful wife to go to war. This is not so. The Father left the family in 1935 (in the film); he visited the family though during the war.
Thank you, good and helpful comment.
i had watched this movie 2 days back & was left clueless after finishing it ... but I was quite amused by the intensity & the execution of some really long & beautiful shots though. Thanks for clearing the chaos out.
you're welcome.
This movie is where the art of cinema can reach the maximum of its potential.
This is a true story.
I am an aspiring filmmaker. And I had never seen this movie up until as of today (July 27, 2021).
About a week ago it occured to make a film about poignant moments of my life. And even today, prior to the start of the film, I was thinking about writing down the images about different moments of my life without any detail or explanation.
Little did I know that this was similar to what Mirror is about.
also, Malick's Tree of Life. Keep working. Mirror shows us that there are infinite possibilities for film and video.
Dr Joshua you are unpaparalled in terms of film analysis , accessibility and discussion of film as art Dash art imitating life - and a breaking down the visual and a cinematic sub text without tender or patronizing. Your half ability and camera friend liness are quite the asset to your audience
than kyou.
Great commentary. We think a story has to be linear because in life there is a birth (beginning), there is growth, there is old age (maturity) and death (the end). But life within these broad milestones is nonlinear. That in my view is Mirror is all about.
thank you.
I love that Tarkovsky takes advantage of what makes film as a medium so special. Showing not telling
Quick advice: Don't make this your first Tarkovsky film. But if you appreciated Stalker, Sacrifice or Nostalgia, you can get a lot out of MIRяOя.
I agree. I would watch Ivan's Childhood first. (Might've said that in my Tarkovsky video, but I think that one is not only easiest but very helpful in deciphering parts of Mirror.)
@@LearningaboutMovies I watched stalker first (needed to see it twice to really appreciate it tho) then Ivan’s child hood love both but I agree on Ivan’s childhood being the easiest one to get into
ABSOLUTELY AGREE
I just saw this for the first time this week and I thought it was just good. But I feel like I'll really like it the second time!
Try again. Worth it.
I did enjoy this movie and let it wash over me (literally, a lot of water), i wasn't sure how much to ponder the poetry, so took some in more than others ... the way the images run together is smooth, and I was expecting the film to go longer, so next time I see it I'll condense my attention on the details more. as for the female leads, i thought the wife and young mother were the same actress often, so i need to clarify that next viewing,,, but yes, the 'mirror' can be so many things; our relation to film, our relation to nature, the relation b/n generations ... good stuff 👍
thank you!
i fully agree. this movie is a masterpiece, unmatched in my mind.
It made me nostalgic for living in a cabin in the woods! a masterpiece
heh, yes!
Amazing review! But can someone please tell me what’s the plot twist, or what happened in the printing scene? I didn’t understand a lot haha. New Sub!
thank you. I don't recall, other than that she's panicked about a mistake, and that scene ends with the narrator reading one of Tarkovsky's father's poems. Perhaps someone can tell us what's at stake in that scene.
Hello, the printing scene takes place during the time of Stalin totalitarian regimen. A misprint that the heroine thinks she’ve made could cost jobs and even lives for people working in the printing factory. That’s why she rushes there to check. There was a word (which is not specified in the movie) that in case of misprint would sound somehow inappropriate. Luckily a mistake hasn’t been made. So there is a political context here
@@Findyourcall Thank you
To me that is the standout, most chilling scene of the film. She thought she may have made a newspaper typo that would've been critical or insulting towards Russia's harsh dictator Stalin. Had that typo gone through, been printed and distributed to the public she would have been in very deep doo-doo. In real life she likely would have been sent off to the Gulag and maybe never heard from or seen again on the outside. That scene and it's message is monumental in what it is saying.
thanks. Going to watch it right now.
you're welcome. enjoy!
I feel like the closest equivalent to this film recently was Cuaron's Roma. Autobiographical, vignettes, absent father, dreamlike moments and visuals
I was looking for plot in the movie. Didn't knew it's an autobiography. Now i will see it on a projector.
More of an experience, a poetic memoir of a kind.
I saw the movie today and i feel strange now. Because from what i understand from the film Tarkovsky's puts you in a space where the plot has less meaning, but the words that Tarkovsky/Aleksej said they let you nostalgic in some way.
its like the little talk you do with your friends about grow up and no longer be children.
yes, I think so.
my new all time favorite
The movie reminds me of "in search of lost time" by Proust.
Beautifully shot but I couldn't get my head around it haha. I bet if I researched the poems or the literature/authors he alluded to it would make me understand what he's trying to convey more but that's too much digging for me haha. You can definitely still appreciate this movie though!
Great channel
thank you.
This video came on autoplay after I finished Mirror. Got yourself a new subscriber. Great analysis!
thank you, and welcome to the channel!
Cure for insomnia top 5
1 story of the last chrisantemus
2 andrei rublev
3 stalker
4 the last year at marienbad
5 solarys
Mirror ...is a good one ..the Best of tarkowsky
This is awesome
thank you.
Just watch, its a master class film, smoke weed n watch it
well...
I only loved the cinematography
thanks.
@@LearningaboutMovies yeah l just finished it l did't really stayed focus l felt a sleep a bit but l liked the ambianece the air of russie.
One day l'll watch it again.
loved your interpretation thank you!
thank you.
Pure Film, this should be the cookie cutter for all films to follow
very hard to a director to comprehend it, then rework it into his/her own vision.
Tnx
I am a degree student in India. The mirror movie is my one chapter in 6th sem
I enjoyed your explanation more than the film
thanks, I think. With this movie, I recommend engaging with an analysis before watching. hopefully that will help you watch the movie with profit.
@@LearningaboutMovies I really enjoyed your video, genuinely, keep doing what you do 👍
thank you!
All the world is a stage ?
which part of the video or the movie are you referencing?
Learning about Movies I was commenting on you phrase that the movie is a mirror of the players life / are lives are a movie / play Reality Television
ah, thank you.
epic and weird
yes.
It’s fantastic but I think I still prefer Stalker over this
makes good sense. thank you.
Lonely esoteric diamond in cinema sky
Andrei tarkovsky
All opus
So
Gentle
Evokativ
Mistic
Beaitiful pure
Poetry
Unique in
Solar system
Mirror
Antonio vivaldi
L estro armonico
Branderburg concerto
Al
Bach
Joy division
Closer
Heart and soul
Eternal
Decades
Greetings from
Croatia
Mirror is timeless.
As a film enjoyer (not a film maker) I have accepted the bitter truth of Tarkovsky's movies are not for me. Love his style, love his cinematography... but I hate his storytelling. He nevers evokes ANYTHING to me. I leave empty out of 2 hours. And let me highlight: I enjoy artistic movies. I've am close to 2500 movies under my belt total but still can't seem to enjoy his work.
Did u love the Decalogue series?
I could say something about it if I was able to understand at least a thing
a normal and understandable reaction.
@@LearningaboutMovies Is it worth watching a second time?
I think so. One of a few to try again. No guarantee though, but if you watch more Tarkovsky, that might also help.
His movies often center around the Christian understanding of redemption. This however will not be apparent to most including Protestants. An Orthodox or traditional Catholic Christian will see it though
Sorry for my english. Interesting point of these movie, in his own diary Trakovsky wrote about it like his a debt to son. If you like movie, i can recommend you read scenario to this. It was especially experience because written like interesting book with scenes what didn't added to film
Just watched this for the first time. Went in expecting to be blown away because I did like stalker and Solaris, but this one I couldn't really get into. I found some of the immagery nice, but idk I guess I just couldn't get into it.
This is the movie masterpice, i love more Bergman or Fellini but this 3 Europian directors are too good for Hollywood, i knows that Europians director are Hitchcock and so many others but when i think of Europian directors i think of they own language
many great European directors are somewhat different. Historically, there was crossover (e.g., Hitchcock, Lang, Lubitsch).
Spoiled 2001 for me ):
are you saying that this video did, or The Mirror?
@@LearningaboutMovies the video lol
I forget what spoilers are here on 2001, and I assume familiarity with it. there's no plot surprises in it really.
@@LearningaboutMovies not mad! I suppose it will just be an experience
im so confused by this movie, like i have never been this confused
skill issue
Should i watch this movie high, or will i have a better experience watching it sober?
since I have never been high, I don't know, though I suspect a number of movies like this simulate the hallucinatory-drug experience.
Idk, visually its good but that's all, it fails as a movie for me, too vague, perhaps there's people who like visual and sound magic, not for me i guess.
It’s definetly not for everyone but it is one of the most beautiful movies I’ve seen
yes, agreed.
It made me fall asleep. 😴 😅
I believe Solaris is better and Andrei Rublev is the very best of Tarkovsky. This film is just too confusing, most especially since the younger version of the mother and the wife are portrayed by the exact same person. It is better to read a summary of the plot before seeing this confusing film.
You should have at least 100k subscribers and no I've not subscribed.
thank you.
It was nice but I like Ivan’s childhood the most. I still felt too confused. 🤷🏻♂️
it requires giving into dream and memoir logic a bit, though I do think pretty much everything is explainable as part of Tarkovsky's life, at least.
it was a fun movie but id be lying if i said i understood it
after first watch the conclusion i came to was "slightly pretentious self reflection"
Sorry but ..... tarkowsky is boooooring 😴😴😴
Зеркало
I never understood this film, and as a result didn't find any value in it. Yes I understand where Tarkovsky was coming from, but the narrative became too abstract and convoluted as the film went on. As a result, I found it extremely difficult to engage with the story and glean any messages or Ideas from it. To be honest, his other films such as Stalker, Solaris, and Ivan's Childhood are leagues beyond this one.