By Ryan Martinez, ArtsEtc. Writer
Some people get angry at movies with subtitles, dismissing these films because you have to read and be aware of the surroundings at the same time. For people who cannot manage these menial tasks, feel pity for them.
There are many international films that not only deserve a viewing, but should be in more movie houses across America that are currently playing J. Lo’s most recent craptasterpiece.
Directors Jafar Panahi and Takeshi Kitano are sensations in their own country, but in America the mere mention of their name draws facial expressions comparable to someone splattering mustard all over his face.
Panahi, a well known director in Iran, has made films like the White Balloon, a simple tale involving a child on her way to buy a goldfish, but there is more than meets the eye when the people she encounters on her journey try to take the money from her hands. Panahi used this premise into the next film he made, this week’s International Film, “The Mirror.”
“The Mirror” is a semi-documentary, depending on how you see this film, about a young girl who after getting out of primary school, is now waiting for her mother to pick her up. When her mother doesn’t show up, the girl decides to find the way home herself, even though she really isn’t sure exactly where it is.
She meets colorful characters along the way, including a bitter grandmother who believes her life means nothing, an eccentric elderly pedestrian who has strange habits of never crossing the street, and the Iranian voice-over to John Wayne, which brings laughter when you make the connection.
At its face value, this movie doesn’t seem like anything to make a fuss over, but about halfway through the movie, the entire film shifts gears revealing what is really going on with this girl and her way home. When this moment is finally revealed, the film interestingly manages to keep its original storyline, even though all the situations have now changed.
The film is shot in a documentary style, but the film has the feel of a spontaneous filming. At times the film seems so rough that the microphone on the girl will cut out, or the camera will not catch the actions taking place, but you can overhear what is being said. Although this may not make sense now, trust that all will be revealed when you see this film, and it will all fall into place.
The best moment in this movie is when following a cab, the microphone picks up a conversation between a female and her male companions about inequality among the sexes, and how she never signed a paper that would make her a slave to her husband. The conversation among the passengers is a simple argument that everyone in America has probably had once or twice. See this movie, and decide for yourself whether or not simplicity in films is sorely lacking, and if that’s what makes this movie so well made.
The Mirror is playing this Sunday in Room 109 of Union South.
