• Extremely personal “auteur” cinema but at the same time very political
  • Features, like many of his other films, much of his fathers’ poetry
  • There are some gorgeous shots features rain or water dripping- a reoccurring visual trait for Tarkovsky- there’s a stunning one featured here with rain dripping from the roof in the foreground with a log cabin burning in the background
  • Features many black and white sequences intermingled… doc footage of the war as well
  • The wind is constantly moving objects
  • There’s a definite surreal or Dali influence
  • Dream sequences featuring slow motion of woman (mother/lover) washing hair
  • Mother obsession for Tarkovsky—Freud or Oedipus
  • Duel roles- Bunuel influence… Bergman
  • Water sound dripping constantly
  • There’s also a sequence of flicking through a book and looking at the pages for a few minutes
  • A very personal stream of consciousness film
  • Some brilliant citizen kane-like staging and foreground/background shots- one of her picking potatoes off the ground with rain coming off the roof in the back
  • Mirror has many possible meanings- dual roles for actors/characters, past vs present, reality vs. dreams
  • Not as many as Stalker but there are many very nice tracking shots
  • You can see the influences (moving grass with wind- black and white sequences in both Malick and Bela Tarr
  • Top 5 quality of 1975
  • Must-See