When the Film Redefines the Art Form

It’s one of the greatest films ever made. Mirror is a film that introduced me to an entirely new cinematic perspective, it is one of my favourites for that reason and many others. There is an unfathomable amount of ways you could analyze this film so making this video almost seemed like I might be doing it a disservice. But because I know how much I genuinely adore it, I just had to talk about it.
(Just my opinion btw)
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[@alvins.4775]

This is exactly how memories function; one memory triggers images/feelings of the past, present, and future all at the same time.

[@zorzoridesagain]

I believe Tarkovsky's comment about only caring about the opinions of Bresson and Bergman was made when the Soviet authorities were trying to advance their opinions about the need to speed up the pace of Stalker. That comment is important, and I'm glad you brought it up. It identifies filmmakers who most influenced him and were colleagues and supporters (Bergman described his first experience of a Tarkovsky film as "like a miracle" and helped him with the production of Sacrifice). But he actually cared quite a lot about the opinions of others. In his book Sculpting in Time, he admits that he was thinking about giving up film until he received letters from people who described how much Mirror meant to them. He pasted the letters in his journal and quoted them in the book. He also said that children understood his films much better than adults. The extraordinary cinematic and poetic elevation of the roles for children in his last three films as bearers of faith and hope for the future - Monkey, Angela, Little Man - suggests that he cared a lot about the opinions of children as well. That very much included his own first son Arseniy, who is portrayed as Ignat in the film. Tarkovsky's sister, who only appears for a few minutes as a young girl at the dacha when the father comes home from the front, said that Mirror was an attempt to explain to his family what had happened during a difficult time in his life. Tarkovsky thought he was making a film about himself, but after it was finished he realized it was about his mother. Ignat has the most screen time of any male actor - which strongly suggests the film is about his son as well, and an attempt to explain to that son why things had been so difficult. I agree that Mirror is a film that is best to feel your way into, but I feel like I've come to an understanding of this and other aspects that enrich each new viewing rather than giving way to any sense of finality. The fact that Tarkovsky made what some estimate were as many as 33 edits before the final cut slotted into place (to the surprise of Tarkovsky himself, who had despaired of the film ever taking shape at all) speaks to the film having a very specific structure and underlying narrative logic. Which is elusive, no question about it, but it's there to be explored - as I did in these blog posts. kitbakerii.blogspot.com/2015/03/beyond-looking-glass-andrei-tarkovskys.html

[@Xylus.]

I watched this on lsd about a year ago. It was a very incredible experience. I cried for most of it. This is one of the most beautiful works of art ever.

[@TruestPicture]

Thanks for watching! I know this film is kinda sacred but it's also probably my favourite. Whatever, you can take what I say with a grain of salt.

[@bennygerow]

I've never heard of it, but I'll check it out.

[@VaQm11]

I loved this film, every scene is iconic. What you said about the film making you feeling nostalgic for a time and place you've never been, I feel exactly the same. But it's not cheap nostalgia, more like a memory of places you know you could have been.

[@sammmiii13]

Lovely essay. I studied Tarkovsky during my BA in film theory and his work has always stayed with me ❤

[@268TERI]

What hooked me was at the beginning of the film when the Doctor noted that "these plants know how to communicate" (the natural order) while we humans muck up (the natural order) with our failures to communicate and so on, culminating (as shown throughout in the film) with the horrors of war and the doctor noting the "banality" of it all. I also appreciated your essay above and learned a lot from it. Thank you.

[@viktorpoberezhnyi4738]

Great essay! I really appreciate hearing people love Tarkovsky's films as much as I do (especially from non-Russian speaking audiences)

[@johnallred9842]

This is my favorite film of all time! I get very emotional every time I watch it. Caught it completely by chance about 12 years ago. My favorite scenes are when he talks about his childhood dreams. But the whole film is superb! Thanks for the video I agree with all of your thoughts!

[@Mr_Rebello]

Great video ! I didn't understand the movie at all , i thought it would follow a liniar storytelling way, so i just watched some random scenes without understanding anything, but now that i've known that the structure and the meaning are different i will certaintely apprreciate it more.

[@fredkeeler4620]

That same year saw the release of Cronenberg's "The Dead Zone"- One of the best Stephen King film adaptations. It was also surprisingly laid back for a director who can go wildly over the top.

[@jesustyronechrist2330]

I've always struggled with this choice of "feeling" and "understanding" literally any piece of art. But sometimes... It's just too exhausting and too hard to verbalize things, to structure everything, too hard to analyze and make sense of the "facts". Probably the first time I very clearly experienced this was after playing Signalis, a video game with a very poetic and deliberately vague plot, but one that stuck with me for 2 weeks after playing it, making me obsessed of trying to form a timeline and make some sense of the events, to find an explanation that wouldn't be "it was all a dream" (which it probably ends up being). After I had written like 5 pages of my theories and facts down, I just... Gave up. It was too exhausting, there was no point. There was only theories. Too many way to interpret, too many ways to speculate what the creators intended, too many things that could be red herrings of meaning, merely being just references. So I just said "Screw it: It's just a story about love and loss. The visuals is just a platform to deliver that story and feeling through." And that's where I'll leave it at. The core feeling, the core story is VERY clear. It's just everything else around it that is like a fever dream. Maybe it's just there so there could be a game, to have different locations and enemies to fight. Who knows. I highly recommend playing Signalis. It will make create an empty pit in your stomach for weeks and everytime you think about it.

[@TruestPicture]

I appreciate your input. I think art is always worthy of deep analysis but first and foremost it is a means of expression. Not always being made to be pedantically sifted through. The game sounds pretty intriguing so I’ll add it to my list. Admittedly I’ve neglected story based games for way too long and I know I’ve been missing out on some great stuff.

[@navidjavan7472]

Signalis mentioned! A very fitting example to bring up for sure. Although I'd say in the case of Signalis the devs were very meticulous with the deep plot and the events that happen to both ELSTR and Arianna. The structure and timeline is difficult to grasp but it is 100% there, everything has its place and nothing is a coincidence. That is something I always greatly respect and appreciate in any art form. As I was watching the Mirror right now, I kept trying to put the characters together and figure out the underlying narrative themes but very early I also realized that this is something that isn't meant to be analyzed but felt. It felt like a kind of Mirage, of life flashing before your eyes almost.

[@joaquimqueiroz9714]

This genuinly felt like one of the most honest words about this film. Mirror might be the one film that's come closest to being my favorite, and I still hold that distinction. I couldn't agree more with how you expressed your feelings about it, and yet I also feel like you've drawn an absolutely distinct experience from my own, and I think that's beautiful. Everyone can find themselves in Tarkovsky, and that brings them closer to who they truly are and help them relocate themselves in the world. For me that's the meaning of art: expressing your way of feeling the world as a means of bringing you and people closer to it through emotion.

[@thiaz2969]

This video managed to explain in such a didactic way some things that left me confused about this film. The quality of this channel is incredible, I hope it grows much more

[@limp6515]

for 600 subs great quality video mate keep grinding

[@TruestPicture]

Thank you!

[@5alitavakoli]

What a lovely essay! Thanks for sharing it with us.

[@williamneal9076]

Thanks for the post and 'analysis' without being a spoiler. Odd. I have as my favorite SOLARIS. I was thinking earlier today to load up my 2 vhs, one after the other to enjoy. Then at day's end, we flip on KZbin and see this! Coincidental. We also have a dvd of Nostalghia.

[@RomanWersh]

Btw it is really difficult to make any spoilers to this movie. Plot here meaning nothing. The feelings couldn't be spoiled

[@libertyfilm4096]

Good writing 👏👏👏

[@MattsFreeChannel1]

Love Zerkalo. Just finally bought this, on Blu-ray. *Beautiful* movie. Looking forward to watching it on the format.

[@annanimity2034]

I really liked this. Now I need to find this film. 😅

[@gujonteitur4853]

all tarkovskies movies are free on youtube. none of them are copyrighted.

[@veronicahair7427]

This is the greatest film I’ve ever seen.

[@sourishchanda9067]

Excellent essay. Keep it up. Subscribed.

[@skolrelaterat4113]

Thank you for this. I love it too, but it is almost impossible for me to explain why. I think you are on to something when you note out the questions the film raises (What is my significance in a world that is constantly fluctuating...). We don't need to share the exact same memories to feel the same longing.

[@saphone9758]

Cinema is dead... So sad about it

[@Lassoscheen]

What movie is the clip at 0:15 from?

[@kaustubhfadtare1125]

After hours

[@azzouzhassan8721]

some cinephiles over dramatize cinema as it really an art form lol im tired of those hyper depressing rambling about those crappy film makers bergman tarkovsky or bresson cinema existed before and after those hacks

[@octajon]

I thought this film was too far out there. I haven't seen any other Tarkovsky's. And we all have our opinions. It was beautiful with the poetry but too scatter-brained otherwise for me. why are we following this woman? who are the characters? it just made no sense to me. the sound mixing was terrible. them walking in the first half of the movie sounds like horses walking, not people. I expected better and more from all of the hype of reviews leading into it. 2/5