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After looking forward to this film for over a year and a half, being a fan of Gaiman in particular, I finally got a hold of the DVD on Tuesday and finished it last night. What an unforgettable, unique, moving and just mindblowing experience! Truly one of the best films I've seen in a long, long time. The story is pretty simple, a young adolescent girl with angst and rebellious feelings towards her parents is plotting to run away from her life and seek something more normal. Perhaps this theme sounds a bit too typical, but rest assured, that's where familiarity ends. This girl, Helena, lives with her parents who own and operate a circus/tivoli, and she helps out with her juggling act. 'Mirrormask' starts out with Helena writing a letter, sort of a diary entry, explaining her frustration with her parents. Shortly thereafter Helena confronts her mum about her attitude towards the circus and the heated discussion ends quickly without any resolve. They go about their business and get ready for the nightly performance. As misfortune would have it, moments later Helena's mum falls ill and the evening's grand event must be postponed as she shockingly discovers her mum collapsed on the ground. From here on out, Helena's life seems to falter, and she regrets the silly, irrelevant argument that she had with her mum just moments earlier, and not telling her how sorry she is for what she said. Her dad and the circus crew comfort her and reassure her that she has done nothing wrong and that she mustn't blame herself. Helena's mum is taken to the hospital and Helena stays with her grandmother in the mean time. Daily visits to the hospital becomes the order of the day, and Helena becomes increasingly worrisome. She deals with her pain through art, drawing in her room and on of the roof of her grandmother's apartment complex. One day as she's drawing, she falls asleep on top of the roof, and at that moment she enters a strange, parallel dimension in which nothing is as it seems, and the rules of our reality have no bearing anymore. Enter the surreal and wonderfully twisted world of 'MirrorMask'.
I was honestly blown away and awe struck by the imagery put forth in this adventure, and some moments simply had my jaw to the ground in disbelief. The mind is truly an amazing, underestimated thing, and perhaps never has it been more apparent than by the awesome imagination of Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean and the intensely talented folks with the Jim Henson company. The world relies on masks as the true source of identity or emotion, and quite literally everything is topsy turvy from the very ground to the buildings and sky. There is a major character named Valentine who becomes Helena's confidant in this mirrored world, and quickly shows her the ways of this strange and fascinating new universe of odd customs and equally perplexing inhabitants. One scene in the film was a bit funny in which Valentine wondered why Helena did not have a mask, and she answered that she didn't have one, then he asked her how else could she display emotions? That's just one of the ways in which this world operates, and it's a poignant commentary on how people in our society often unknowingly hide behind these masks that we put on in various social situations. This journey of Helena into a new dimension isn't just about exploring another destination, but it's most importantly a journey of self-exploration, of her own mind and how she eventually comes to terms with her mum falling ill and how she relates to her parents in the child-parent paradigm. Throughout the film she gets glances at herself through windows inside buildings, looking back at herself in the real world, and Helena in the real world staring back at herself in the parallel world of 'MirrorMask'. As we find out later on, the Helena in the real world isn't really herself, or is it? The question is answered by the end of the film, but the question still lingers, at least in the figurative sense. Without giving too much away, Helena encounters numerous foes on the other side of reality, perhaps in a sense fighting the demons of her own artistic mind. Ultimately it's a coming of age story of how to deal with the transition from childhood to adulthood, and tackling the real life obstacles that far too often interfere with that metamorphosis, but also it's an important tale of the possibilities of not only our reality, but all the realities out there, the possible as well as the impossible ones, and the power and creativity of the human mind.
'MirrorMask' is part surreal, visceral art exhibit on speed and hallucinogenics, and part drama depicting the trials and rewards of life. It's an emotional journey to be sure, with convincing, moving, passionate and deep performances by the cast, especially that of Helena who carries the film on her shoulders. The imagery in this tour de force will stick with one for a lifetime, and as the movie hints at, it really is the stuff dreams are made of. I found a bit of myself in this excellent film, and maybe some of you will too. Definitely a must see film, for so many reasons. Enter at your own risk though, because once you're in the world of 'MirrorMask', you might not want to leave.
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Reviews with images
I love this movie 😍
This movie is definitely different from the others, between the music, art, and amazing visual effects, this movie is grade A! The DVD purchased from the seller was in perfect condition and came super fast!
