Andrei Tarkovsky

Andrei Tarkovsky is unquestionably one of the greatest filmmakers that Russia, and indeed the world, has ever seen. Although he made just seven feature films - among them ‘Andrei Rublev’, ‘Solaris’ and ’The Sacrifice’ before his life was cut tragically short by cancer at the age of 54, each is an artistic master piece and a major landmark of world cinema. This exceptional body of work, characterised by metaphysical and spiritual explorations of the human condition and images of extraordinary beauty, is celebrated in this DVD with films by acclaimed directors Alexander Sokurov ( Moscow Ellergy / Moskovskaya elegiya ) , Chris Marker ( One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich / Une journée d'Andrei Arsenevitch ), and by Tarkovsky himself and Tonino Guerra ( Tempo di Viaggio / Tempo di viaggio ).

Mirror is Tarkovsky's fourth of seven feature films and proceeds in a non-narrative, stream-of-consciousness form. The director mixes flashbacks, historical footage and original poetry to illustrate the reminiscences of a dying man about his childhood during World War II, adolescence, and a painful divorce in his family. The story interweaves reflections about Russian history and society.
Mirror has relevancy being numerically "central" in Tarkovsky's oeuvre also marking itself as, by the director's own account, 'My most openly autobiographical, daring, and self-revealing film'. Infused with dense, personal references from memory and an inaccessible use of time, space and performances, this is considered the director most artistically bold work being steeped in layered constructions. In examining his entire body of work this tends to be a catalyst of his vision of transcendency.