The Mirror (1997 film)

The Mirror (Persian: Ayneh) is a 1997 Iranian film directed by Jafar Panahi, about a little girl trying to find her way home from school.

Plot

Mina, a young girl, finds her mother has failed to pick her up from school, so she decides to walk home on her own. The movie is about her endeavor to find her way home amidst the noise, confusion and chaos of Tehran. Mina is dressed in school uniform (with a head scarf), has one arm in a cast and is holding a school bag in the other. She meets a lot of people on her way and most of them try to help her while others are surprisingly apathetic to her situation. The movie captures the little girl's progress from timidity to cautious bravery. Eventually the movie takes a turn when the girl looks into the camera for the first time and someone shouts "Mina, don't look into the camera" and the movie is a real life capture of events thereon (at least it seems like that). Mina announces that she doesn't want to act in the movie any more and wants to go home. So, she actually becomes the character she is portraying. It is not clear if this is part of the screenplay and made to look that way or if it's really like that. In the end she goes home after returning the microphone. Presumably the name Mirror comes from this transition of reel life into real life and mirroring its story.

Cast

• Mina Mohammad Khani — Little Girl / Mina
• Kazem Mojdehi
• Naser Omuni
• M. Shirzad
• T. Samadpour

Accolades

Award	Kategorie	Winner/Nominee	Result
Locarno International Film Festival	Golden Leopard	Jafar Panahi	Won
Istanbul International Film Festival	Golden Tulip	Jafar Panahi	Won
Singapore International Film Festival	Silver Screen Award (Best Asian Director)	Jafar Panahi	Won
Golden Spike	Valladolid International Film Festival	Jafar Panahi	Nominated