The use of a mirror, depending on which technical element it’s based on , will give a different identity to the final form of it. For example, if the mirror in a film is intended by the set designer to give identity to the location, or by the cinematographer for technical considerations, it will be independent of cinematic expressions. If the mirror, added by the creator of the work, whether as a scriptwriter or a director, it gains the potential for analysis within the cinematic language. Just as quoted from Bordwell in the first chapter, each film needs to be analyzed based on its unique statement, and it is not possible to offer the same analysis for all films based on a specific size and angle of the frame. This also includes mirrors, especially when the diversity of their use creates different interpretations based on each statement.
Branigan refers to the synchronization of the line of sight for the viewer when using a mirror in cinema. When a character looks into a mirror, they see themselves both as the subjective and objective, observer. What will happen if this character does not see themselves and instead views something else – meaning the mirror only distorts the image of the person or reflects something else in the frame? In fact, there is a series of narratives in this simulation of a mirror, where the simplest is a character looking at themselves in a mirror. The character, by rotating vertically in front of the mirror, can see other subjects, even things behind the curtain. Therefore, the character can go out of the scene and only the mirror remains visible. As a result, now only the mirror, its frame, and a reflected object beyond the scene are visible. However, there is no need for the mirror frame. In other words, the mirror can expand to fill the entire scene (for example, through a forward or inward rotational movement) and, in fact, so invisible that it shifts directly (through a new camera movement or a fresh scene setting such as a fresh angle through editing) to the object of interest to the film character. Thus, the possibility of synchronization of the line of sight for the viewer arises. Character’s gaze, then cut (or horizontal rotation) to what he sees (or vice versa: subject and then gaze) (Branigan, 1376: 230). In this chapter, an investigation of the mirror as a cinematic element and some different functional roles of it have been discussed with examples.
Mirrors and the Creation of Multiple Frames
One of the most important functions of a mirror in the initial encounter with any film can be the creation of a frame. A mirror, with its defined frame in a corner of each frame, creates a similar world to the film frame itself, allowing for various analyses. Even with mirrors without frames, this can be mentioned. The infinity of the image inside the mirror frame draws reality and ends towards the surroundings. However, in cases where the outside of the mirror is entirely inside the frame, creating the reflection from within the mirror, the concept of the frame is taken out of the subject. The multiple frame created by the mirror either gives depth to the image or pulls part of the space outside the main scene into the image. This type of use can save time through simultaneity in addition to cognitive considerations.
In the discussion of using a mirror as a multiple frame, examples from the movie Effi Briest directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder in 1974 are mentioned. In this film, Fassbinder shows the situation of Effi’s life, gradually depicted by his placement in front of the mirror and creating various frames. The mirrors in this film can be interpreted as frames that face Effi with different perspectives of his life.
1 – Effi Briest – 13 ‘: 19”
In Image 1, a man and a woman are seen reflected in a mirror on a wall. Here, as a narrator, the camera shows the woman in the mirror as if she has not yet noticed the potential of it. In other words, this image is only for the audience, as none of the characters are aware of the presence of the mirror here. One of the feature of such images is their window-like nature. In this way, the filmmaker opens a window towards the audience. Another point to note in the use of these images of a mirror is about the aesthetics of the image. In this pointed view, almost half of the volume of the image assigned to the space around the mirror has a special visual impact on the viewer and their perceptual relationship with the reflections inside the mirror. The framing lines within the mirror usually neutralize each other based on the vertical and horizontal lines within the main frame, but in the above image, it is observed that the top horizontal line of the mirror frame aligns with the main frame line in a way that the mirror frame appears to be drawn upwards, and the two vertical lines and the horizontal line of the mirror indicate a vital sign for the image and the subjects within it.
2 – Effi Briest – 16′ : 32”
In Image 2 of this film, there is a considerable visual difference between the space around the mirror and the inside of it. Here, the mirror has a different function than the first example, as the woman in black inside the mirror sees people inside the mirror. Her gaze inside the second frame not only gives depth and perspective to the space but also extends beyond the frame. She is also the owner of the image within the mirror and observes the actions inside the room.
3 – Effi Briest – 17′ : 00”
Following the previous image, one of the characters that the woman in black was watching, returned and looked towards the mirror from outside the frame. In Image 3, the other woman being the observer is not alone in the frame and one of the characters stares at her in the mirror. This announcement of the presence of a space beyond the frame, which is one of the main tasks of external audio, is entirely visualized through the mirror.
4 – Effi Briest – 24 ‘: 50”
Image 4 has similarities with the first image, with the difference that in this case, “Effi” turns towards the mirror to look at the actions of people outside the frame. Fassbinder has simultaneously depicted the reason for Effi’s gaze outside the frame in a static view of the mirror. Links to the outside of the frame in several similar cases are also visualized in this film through mirrors in a uniform view.