The Mirror – Zerkalo (1975)

Directed by: Andrei Tarkovsky | 107 minutes | biography, drama | Actors: Filipp Yankovskiy, Ignat Daniltsev, Margarita Terekhova, Oleg Yankovskiy, Nikolay Grinko, Alla Demidova, Yuriy Nazarov, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Larisa Tarkovskaya, Tamara Ogorodnikova, Yuri Sventisov, Tamara Reshetnikova, Innovski Tarkovskiy, Innovskiy Arkovskaya. Gutierrez, Tatiana Del Bosque, Teresa Del Bosque, L. Correcer, Diego Garcia, Teresa Rames

The film industry is naturally commercial. That means that – to a certain extent – ​​you have to deliver ‘user-friendly’ films and that a connection with a (part of) the audience has to be found. From that point of view, it is remarkable that ‘The Mirror’ (also known as ‘The Mirror’ or ‘Zerkalo’) has become a true film classic. Because the film is not exactly accessible. (Substantive, then. Aesthetically speaking, the film will have little difficulty in seducing viewers.) Certainly for an international audience, which also knows nothing about the filmmaker or the background of the film, there will be little coherence. But to what extent is that really a problem? Isn’t it just a different way of looking or experiencing?

There is not really one answer to this question. Because indeed, ‘The Mirror’ is not a film with a clear story or plot, or clearly defined characters who go through developments and with whom you as a viewer can form a bond. At the same time, the feelings of the main character Alexei (the alter-ego of Tarkovsky himself), his (ex-)wife and mother (both played by Margarita Terekhova) come across well. In addition, many scenes are so visually stimulating that they do not leave you untouched.

There is a good chance that the viewer will become a bit restless at various moments, especially due to the excessive length of certain scenes. When Ignat, the son of main character Alexei, spends a very long time leafing through a book about Leonardo Da Vinci, for example, or a Spanish uncle tells passionately about a toreador, but no one has a clue what he is saying. Or when archival footage shows how Russian soldiers cross Lake Sivash in Crimea during WWII. All quite enriching or interesting enough in their own right to add, but not to take more than a few glances at. These are apparently episodes that were more than just a fleeting memory for Tarkovsky and for whatever reason made an impression on his personal life, but does this automatically apply to the viewer?

Because if there’s one thing that can’t be denied, it’s that ‘The Mirror’ is incredibly personal. You can see the film as a diary of remembrance; or rather: a portrait, because the film is absolutely not structured like a diary. It is true that roughly three timelines can be identified in which scenes or memories take place, but they alternate continuously. Not such a crazy choice when you realize that ‘The Mirror’ actually puts the viewer inside the head of the main character (Tarkovsky) while imagining memorable moments from his life. As is usually the case, these kinds of retrospectives go in all directions in time.

‘The Mirror’ first takes place around 1935 when Tarkovsky is still a little boy and growing up in a hut ‘on the heath’ with his mother and sister. This first look at this period is impressive, among other things, by the shots of his mother sitting on a fence in front of the house while a stranger comes through the field in front of it. Several scenes have something dreamy and ominous about them. The unpredictability of the strange man, the way he keeps looking back, but also simply the beauty of the compositions and the hypnotic and slightly intimidating way the wind blows over the wheatfield, which slowly moves towards the viewer, like a ‘ wave’ in a football stadium.

The moment the barn catches fire also makes for an unforgettable scene, especially because of the way it is filmed. With a tracking and following shot from the house, the camera sneaking around the corner and ‘looking’ through windows, while the children in the doorway watch the fire, mesmerized. Only at the last moment does the viewer get to see the fire, with the skeleton of the shed clearly visible in the immense, orange glow of flames.

It is a moment that Alexei (Tarkovsky himself) still remembers as a grown man, when he has a telephone conversation with his mother. It clearly – and understandably – impressed the little boy. And this is actually the only condition for the presence of scenes or shots in ‘The mirror’.

Everything we see in the film is or has been meaningful in Tarkovsky’s life. But it doesn’t all have to have happened to him, or literally in his personal life. ‘The mirror’ also contains various archive images of political-historical events. From nuclear explosions, for example, the conflict between Russia and China, and tests with balloons and flying machines.

For the most part, it is scenes of a personal nature that we get to see. Or to hear. Because several scenes are provided with a voice-over consisting of poems by the director’s father, Arseny Tarkovsky, an acclaimed poet in Russia, who also recites the lyrics himself. This is often beautiful, dreamy and intimate (just by realizing that this is all personal), but the challenge is to just let all these scenes and lyrics come over you and not look for a message or meaning. Because it often isn’t there. Or at least not consciously.

Yet, especially with an abstract film like this, you are inclined to look for something important or intellectual in it. Then it might be reassuring that the director himself does not always know why something is in the film. For example, he absolutely wanted his own mother to appear at certain times. And this definitely makes for some beautiful scenes. Especially when the young version of his mother (Margarita Terekhova) looks in the mirror and slowly sees the reflection of the older version, partly transparent and in a picturesque frame. But the old woman also knocks once at her son’s house, whereupon her grandson opens the door and the two do not recognize each other. Tarkovsky has no idea why this is happening and what the significance of this is.

Which interpretations the viewer does or does not give to the film, that the film is partly an exploration of the relationship between Tarkovsky and his mother is obvious. Although in the first concept of the film the director’s intention was to make the film all about the nostalgic memories of his childhood, he later decided to incorporate his mother’s story, which adds new psychological dimensions. Also the fact that he has his mother and his wife portrayed by the same actress, the similarities explicitly mentioned in the dialogue between these women, and the difficulties in the relationship with his mother that are observed and analyzed by both his (ex-) woman like himself, give extra meaning to the story, if you can speak of this at all.

It’s nice to learn more about these individuals through conversations with his mother and ex-wife (e.g. about the custody of their son Ignat) and the focus on his mother’s life – especially when she worked in a print shop and suddenly panicked because she suspected there was a misprint in a publication that had already been printed in large numbers – that’s welcome, but you get more and more snatches of personalities. Combined with the much more abstract images that the film has to offer, you as a viewer remain largely at a distance.

But although this associative approach by the director stands in the way of an optimal connection with the material, this is made a lot less objectionable by the many poetic images in the film. Like when the (young) mother washes her hair in a tub in slow motion and lets the wet long hair hang down in front of her eyes, which makes the scene hypnotic and also – especially since the release of films like ‘The Ring’ and similar ‘J horror movies’ – something spooky. The scene after this, in which the plaster falls from the ceiling in slow motion, is also very powerful. And what about the moment when the young mother, while asleep, floats a few meters above her bed? Not a scene you’ll soon forget.

Visually, much more stands out in ‘The Mirror’, such as the alternation of the use of colour; then we see another segment in color, then in sepia, then in black and white, depending on the era or emotion to be conveyed. But the deep focus photography also stands out, with interior shots in which both the foreground and the (furthest) background are sharp. Several times in this way different spaces lying behind each other are shown at the same time. This is also made possible because many doors are open and provide insight into the nearby space.

Undoubtedly, this was also done for a thematic or substantive reason, to make everything hang together and form a whole, as it apparently happens in Tarkovsky’s head as he relives all these moments in his life. It also gives the camera the ability to move smoothly through the hallways, turning into another room in the same shot, revealing a different time or group of characters. It’s an elegant way to move seamlessly from one memory to another.

‘The Mirror’ is an intriguing film and an intriguing project. It’s a film that’s interesting while you watch it, but becomes even more captivating when you evaluate it and think about it after you’ve watched it. In addition, many images are wonderfully beautiful and it is remarkable how in the long run it is almost as if the images also become part of the viewer’s memory. At the same time it remains the case – even if you know the backgrounds – that some scenes and parts just don’t make much sense to the viewer and that the lack of a plot and information about characters and connections causes frustration. Also because these images are (often) not stimulating enough to provoke an emotional response.

‘The mirror’ makes you think very effectively about film and the requirements you set for a successful film experience. The film gives the viewer a special insight into the psyche and memories of the director, which may not always be optimal for the viewer’s involvement but feels like a privilege. As if you are allowed to be present at a very personal and intimate family reunion. Combined with the many beautiful, mysterious images, this makes ‘The Mirror’ a unique film that you have to watch more than once.