MIRROR

A senses-ravishing odyssey through the halls of time and memory, Andrei Tarkovsky’s sublime reflection on 20th century Russian history is as much a film as it is a poem composed in images or a hypnagogic hallucination. In a richly textured collage of varying film stocks and newsreel footage, the recollections of a dying poet flash before our eyes, dreams mingling with scenes of childhood, wartime, and marriage, all imbued with the mystic power of a trance. Largely dismissed by Soviet critics upon its release due to its elusive narrative structure, MIRROR has since taken its place as one of the titan director’s most renowned and influential works, a stunning personal statement from an artist transmitting his innermost thoughts and feelings directly from psyche to screen.

Awards & Nominations

Nominee - Best Foreign Film, Turkish Film Critics Association (SIYAD) Awards

Andrei Tarkovsky Retrospective

August 29–September 30, 2026

Born in Moscow and ending his life in exile, filmmaker, screenwriter, and film theorist, Andrei Tarkovsky (1932–1986) created some of cinema’s most indelible images in his relatively small filmography. Employing an innovative approach to cinematic time and painstaking world-building, Tarkovsky’s films are rich metaphysical explorations into historical and 20th-century Russian and Soviet life. Born to literary parents, his movies exhibit an innate poetic sensibility; small gestures and grand set-pieces become rich expressions of inner life, spirituality, and shared anxiety. Working often with cinematographer Vadim Yusov, Tarkovsky created a visual style that feels contemporary even 40 years after his death.

The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu