Arts&Entertainment
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‘The Mirror’ offers a mesmerizing visual experience for audiences
By Josh Krauter
Senior editor
In Jean-Luc Godard’s 1969 film,
“Weekend,” a pivotal scene centered on a traffic
jam. This scene dramatically altered the film’s
atmosphere, sending it to a whole other place.
Jafar Panahi’s “The Mirror,” currently
showing at the Mary Riepma Ross Theater’s
Iranian Film Festival, contains a scene that pro
duces a similar effect. To give this scene away
would take away some of the film’s power and
impact, though not entirely.
The film opens with a little girl named Mina
(Mina Mohammad Khani) sitting on a bench in
front of her school. She’s small, maybe 7 or 8,
and her arm is in a sling. She talks with her
friends, but soon they have all been picked
up by their parents.
Mina waits and waits, but her
mother never arrives. By now, U
Mina’s teacher has gone home. ^
Mina’s brow furrows. She’s
worried.
Mina decides to walk
home herself, but she’s
not too sure how to get
there. Thus begins her
journey by foot, taxi and
bus through the crowded
streets ofTehran, which
is the bulk of the film’s
first half. H
And what a master- %
ful film, it is. Panahifc
close attention to detail
makes every frame
compelling. This eye
for detail and craft is j
apparent early in the \
film. A great moment \
occurs-when Mina
decides to get off the
bench and walk,
home alone, and her ||||
sling prevents her ill
from just hopping ||p
off. Instead, she W
scoots, little by little, pLgig
down the long length |111
of bench and ambles 111
offtheendinanawk- 111
ward sidestep.
l his scene snows
just how vulnerable
Mina is on the busy
streets of Tehran, but
it also shows how
determined and
strong the young girl
is. Along the way,
people offer to help
her, bufrshe'refuses,
preferring to find the
way home herself. She
asks for directions, then runs off
before anyone can follow
her.
Khani as Mina is
in nearly every shot
and is a wonderfully
understated and nat- )
ural actor. She sin- / /
glehandedly carries / .
the film with her tiny jj
frame and big, piercing
voice.
Playing just as large a .
role in “The Mirror,” though, is /
the traffic of Tehran. Anyone I
who’s been in traffic jams in I
Kansas City, Denver, New York \
or even Los Angeles hasn’t seen
anything like this traffic. Cars
constantly whiz by, seemingly hap
hazardly. There seems to be no clearly defined
lanes or even destinations.
Waiting to cross the street is a futile exer
cise. The constant procession of metal, wheels,
exhaust and noise is never going to end, at least
not any time soon. Pedestrians, including the
tiny Mina, run right out into oncoming traffic,
dodging and weaving around the vehicles just
as they dodge and weave around each other.
There is no musical soundtrack, just the
continual honks, beeps and revs of the traffic.
This is the film’s first half, and it’s gripping
and mesmerizing. Then comes that surprise in
the film’s center. It’s jarring, but it’s supposed to
be..
Without giving too much away, “The
Mirror’s” second half shatters the barrier
between audience and film, showing viewers
how wrapped up we can get in an imaginary
story. The second half also picks up
with Mina’s attempt to
get home, but the
meaning has
changed.
Panahi’s and Khani’s talents make this jar
ring change work, but “The Mirror” is also a
success because of its many complex themes,
including but not comprising feminism, the
struggle between modernity and tradition with
in Iran, adults’ and children’s perceptions of
each other and the relationship between the
viewer and what’s being viewed.
“The Mirror” manages to subtly convey all
this with a simple story full of sharp details
that’s also funny and entertaining.
“The Mirror” is showing at the Mary
Riepma Ross Theater on Thursday at 3 p.m. and
Friday at 9 p.m.
S"The Mirror
Af08m&
STARS: Mina Mohammad
Khani, Tehran traffic
DIRECTOR: Jafar Panahi
RATING: not rated
(nothing offensive)
GRADE: A
FIVE WORDS: Not your
| vi typical children’s movie.
Melanie Falk/DN