Zerkalo

It is probably due to the unconsciousness of cinema that Tarkovsky's autobiographical key film begins with a hypnosis scene, which suggests a psychoanalytical and perhaps also allegorical interpretation. "Kharkov," answers the young man when asked by the therapist where he is from. A Ukrainian stutterer learning to say "I can talk"! This work, composed in a strictly enigmatic manner, explores hidden origins, repressed memories, and fears; the connection of the private with the course of political history; the relationship with the mother in the 1930s and with the divorced wife in the 1970s (Margarita Terekhova in a double role). Tarkovsky's hall of mirrors multiple ego trip is juxtaposed with the image of his own mother (Mariya Vishnyakova) and the voice of his father (Arseniy Tarkovsky), the poet whose roots lead to Ukraine. (bw)