1975 Hit Film Ranked Among ‘Best Movies of All Time’
1975 Hit Film Ranked Among ‘Best Movies of All Time’
Nina DerwinSun, April 5, 2026 at 11:29 PM UTC
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(Photo by Edaordo Fornaciari/Getty Images)
In 1975, a film arrived that would challenge traditional storytelling and redefine cinematic artistry.
The Mirror, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, has been ranked among the best movies of all time by Rotten Tomatoes. Perhaps even more impressive, the film holds a 100% score on the review aggregator, underscoring its critical acclaim.
Unlike conventional narratives, The Mirror unfolds as a deeply personal and poetic reflection on memory, identity and time. The film weaves together fragments of a man's life, blending childhood recollections, dreams and historical events into a nonlinear structure that mirrors the way memories are experienced.
Rather than following a straightforward plot, Tarkovsky uses striking imagery and emotional resonance to guide viewers through the story. The film shifts between past and present, juxtaposing intimate family moments with broader cultural and historical references, creating a layered and immersive experience.
At its core, The Mirror explores themes of nostalgia, loss and the passage of time, offering a meditation on the connections between personal memory and collective history. Its experimental style and philosophical depth have made it a defining work in world cinema.
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"It's as if I always told the same story about the same character: about a man whom, for some reason, society considers to be weak and which I consider to be strong. I am convinced that precisely thanks to personalities of this sort, society can be strong and look courageously to the future and resist everything that aims to destroy it," Tarkovsky said in a 1979 interview.
"Likewise in Mirror the protagonist is presented as an extremely weak, reflective, being. An ill man, who remembers his own life during a crisis of his illness, without knowing if he will come out of it alive or not," he continued. "It is precisely for this reason that he remembers what he remembers. And instead here is this moribund man, this very weak man, who reveals himself to be very strong, because despite everything he does not belong to himself. He belongs to the persons whom he remembers, he belongs to the love that he gave them. And if he suffers, it is only because he did not love those who loved him enough. Is this perhaps weakness? This is strength."
While it may not have been a mainstream blockbuster upon release, the film has grown in stature over the decades, frequently appearing on critics' lists of the greatest films ever made.
With its inclusion in Rotten Tomatoes' roundup, and its rare perfect score, The Mirror continues to stand as a landmark achievement, proving that its impact on cinema remains as powerful as ever.
Related: 1979 Hit Film Ranked Among ‘Best Movies of All Time’
This story was originally published by Parade on Apr 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
