tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post2202650292520973344..comments2023-09-26T15:52:33.786+05:30Comments on Movies that make you think: 146. Russian maestro Andrei Tarkovsky’s “Zerkalo” (Mirror/The Mirror) (1975): An appraisal of a movie that filmmakers have rated as one of the 10 best movies of all timeJugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-38882088081527935462014-01-31T05:51:19.257+05:302014-01-31T05:51:19.257+05:30A very detailed insight into the aspects of a grea...A very detailed insight into the aspects of a great film. I never read much about films like this as I prefer to leave certain things as they are but I can see that you hold Tarkovsky in very high regard and that his films have had a great impact on you. This film is part of what I sometimes call "the true cinema". Because storytelling does not need a plot to tell a story. Plots, to me, are largely irrelevant in the medium of film. The possibilities that visual storytelling presents means that we no longer have a need for a plot in a film, like say in a book. And while my favourite films include movies such as Stalker and La Dolce Vita, movies like these (Mirror and 8 1/2) are very great examples of new languages and new forms in cinema. These things must continue to come along to take cinema forward.Benjamin Ramkissoonhttp://wdatc.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-30912463445280634012014-01-31T05:51:16.222+05:302014-01-31T05:51:16.222+05:30Sir, I would like to start by congratulating you f...Sir, I would like to start by congratulating you for conjuring up this exceptional film analysis of a truly exceptional film. I had watched Mirror some days back and needless to say I was completely lost. Now, Mirror was not my first Tarkovsky film... but it appeared nothing like anything I had seen before... almost incomprehensible. So, I decided to give it a second watch... and the experience turned out to be an even more perplexing one. Instead of giving it a third go, I chose to read the existing material on Mirror (wikipedia, IMDb, and elsewhere). Several of my questions were finally answered... and I took a sigh of relief. But, still, I was far from being satisfied, for I couldn't appreciate it as much as I wanted to. Being an admirer of Tarkovsky cinema for almost half-a-decade, I knew that I had only reached the tip of the iceberg as far as my understanding of Mirror was concerned. Thankfully, your film analysis has come at the right time for me... the search for more (as far as fathoming the depths of Mirror) is finally over.<br /><br />Your exhaustive review reduces Tarkovsky's profound cinematic essay to a cinch. Had you written this about four decades back, it would have pretty much sealed Tarkovsky's fate (pun intended). Levity apart, I think your review by far provides the best commentary on Tarkovsky's Mirror. I say this after having read dozens of articles on the internet, none of which even comes close to dissecting Tarkovsky's cinematic essay like this one does. Firstly, the things you have mentioned in the earlier part of your review about Tarkovsky's personal life--his relationships with his father, mother, wife and daughter--serves to be quite handy for an uninitiated viewer. The three profound sequences that you have elucidated upon had actually served to be real enigmas (for me) while I watched the film (the first as well as the second viewing). I just failed to understand their significance to the movie's core. But, it all makes sense now... Chekov’s Ward no.6 no longer sounds like a non sequitor to me, while the other two scenes has grown considerably in relevance. The seemingly incongruous opening sequence, the strange use of documentary footage, and the bizarre levitating sequence all make sense now. And there is so much more that I have gained by reading your review... Tarkovksy, for example, has grown further in stature... the gap that separates him from Kurosawa (as my all time favourite filmmaker) has got narrowed down. I would like to end by thanking you and once again congratulating you for your brilliant film analysis of Mirror.Murtaza Alihttp://www.apotpourriofvestiges.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-17216085000383867032014-01-31T05:51:03.278+05:302014-01-31T05:51:03.278+05:30I can't really say that I disagree... as a mat...I can't really say that I disagree... as a matter of fact, I was just having a conversation with an ex-FTII student (on one of the facebook communities) who thought that Tarkovsky was phoney and his works pretentious.Murtaza Alihttp://www.apotpourriofvestiges.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-15567507554300487922014-01-31T05:50:47.316+05:302014-01-31T05:50:47.316+05:30This is my first review of a Tarkovsky film. It co...This is my first review of a Tarkovsky film. It could have been longer. I never reviewed Tarkovsky's works because of an early incident in my life as a wet-behind-the-ears film critic of the Hindustan Times Group in 1979. I had proclaimed with honesty that the finest films to watch at the 1979 New Delhi International Film Festival (IFFI) were those in the Tarkovsky retrospective package playing at a theatre called Archana in Greater Kailash as part of IFFI. Some readers must have taken my recommendation seriously, paid good money expecting uncensored sex, lots of action, and great stories, and I assume they must have got bored within minutes into the films. During one screening, the frustrated audience took out their anger on the chairs of the theater causing extensive damage. The next morning my News Editor gave me a tongue lashing on writing responsibly, not just honestly. Even decades later, I wonder if Tarkovsky could pull audiences anywhere, unless you are a true lover of good cinema.Jugu Abrahamnoreply@blogger.com