Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
A dying man in his forties recalls his childhood, his mother, the war and personal moments that tell of and juxtapose pivotal moments in Soviet history with daily life.
Tarkovsky's Mirror is one of cinema's most singular achievements — a non-linear, deeply personal meditation on memory, time, and Soviet history that defies conventional narrative. The cinematography by Georgy Rerberg is among the most ravishing ever committed to film, with those iconic sequences (the barn fire, the levitating mother) reaching transcendent heights. The acting, particularly Margarita Terekhova in dual roles, is extraordinarily nuanced. Novelty is essentially off the charts — no film before or since has quite replicated its dream-logic structure or the seamless blending of autobiography, newsreel, and poetry. The ending, while moving and tonally consistent, is the one element that doesn't fully deliver the cumulative force the preceding imagery promises, making it the category held back from 4.