Broken Mirrors Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Broken Mirrors Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 17, 2023

Marleen Gorris' "Broken Mirrors" a.k.a. "Gebroken spiegels" (1984) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Epics. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by Peter Verstraeten; archival program with Margo St. James; and vintage promotional materials for the film. In Dutch, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Marleen Gorris must have been in a strange place when she conceived Broken Mirrors in 1984. This film channels a lot of very negative energy and feels like a personal therapy session that needed to happen to avoid a most unfortunate event. A happy person would not have made it. A badly hurt, bitter person would have.

The events that are chronicled in Broken Mirrors are seen through the eyes of two disillusioned women, both making ends meet as prostitutes in a small brothel somewhere in Amsterdam. The first, Diane (Lineke Rijxman), is a mother and wife whose relationship with her husband is irreversibly broken. She has not given up on it yet but her husband, a drug addict on the path to self-destruction, refuses to even have a proper conversation with her. When the two occasionally exchange a few lines, it is as if they utter them in different languages. The second, Dora (Henriette Tol), is a sad loner who spends most of her time wearing a mask. She does not have a family or anyone that genuinely cares about her, so to numb the pain that is eating her from the inside she pretends to be a different person.

In the brothel, Diane and Dora are part of a small team whose work is overseen by the most senior prostitute. All business, medical, and legal expenses are managed by a friendly pimp-turned-professional businessman who has a cozy office. Each room is kept clean by a middle-aged maid who comes in every morning. The brothel is not always an idyllic place but maintains a very business-like atmosphere that is appreciated by everyone – the prostitutes, their clients, and the friendly owner.

But things begin to change after the owner decides to add a BDSM-themed room and a psychotic killer from the same area starts hunting middle-aged women. As the brothel attracts new and stranger customers and reports about the killer’s activities flood the news, the morale of the prostitutes begins to sink, first causing Diane and then Dora to question the merits of their profession.

Absolutely everything that occurs in Broken Mirrors is a variation of one character’s profound revelation that all men are needy, ungrateful, and impossible to love bastards. (In case you are wondering, this is the exact word that is used to profile them). After that, Broken Mirrors goes through a series of situations where Gorris works hard to convince that the revelation is a legit description. Diane’s husband is a selfish loser who has abandoned his family to feed his drug addiction. The men that visit the brothel are cheaters and social outcasts feeding a different type of addiction. A few are closeted abusers, too. Of course, one of them is the psychotic killer, who turns out to be a sadistic monster as well. There is only one man in the entire film that is capable of being a kind creature but only when he is not inebriated. Because he is a homeless drunk living in a shack, the camera never reveals his face.

The narrative construction is very odd. While the drama unfolds in the brothel or at Diane’s apartment, Gorris abruptly begins following the psychotic killer. Virtually all the material with him is from a cell where he has some poor woman chained to a bed. While she begs him to give her something to eat or drink, he takes pictures of her and then puts them on the wall. All of this is supposed to make the message even more obvious.

Feminist directors have made some quite interesting films. The most effective ones usually choose a unique angle to observe reality, question how the two sexes coexist in it, and whether they can do it better. Broken Mirrors is just a one-dimensional, angry film that smears the ‘other side’.

Broken Mirrors Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Broken Mirrors arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Epics.

The release is sourced from a solid recent 4K master. Indeed, even though I have never owned a home video release of Broken Mirrors in the past, I can comfortably state that this master treats it better than any previous masters have. Why? Because there are certain areas of the film where the current ranges of fine nuances are such that they cannot be accurately reproduced on a standard definition master. Also, there is some stylized material -- see screencaptures #14, 15, 16, and 17 -- that would have been quite problematic on an older master. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. However, I noticed numerous areas with compression artifacts, so there is definitely room for meaningful encoding optimizations. There are no distracting age-related imperfections. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Broken Mirrors Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Dutch DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. and Dutch LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I chose to view the film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. I thought that the track was excellent. All exchanges were very easy to follow, clear, and nicely balanced. There are plenty of excellent dynamic contrasts as well, though you should not expect to hear intensity that a modern soundtrack could produce. The English translation was very good.

Broken Mirrors Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by Peter Verstraeten. At the beginning of the commentary, there is some quite interesting information about the 4K restoration of Broken Mirrors. After that, Mr. Verstraeten deconstructs Broken Mirrors and comments on its style and message. I have to confess that I disagreed with a lot of the analysis about the film's strengths. The commentary is in English.

• Interview with Margo St. James - an archival program with Margo St. James, described by a Dutch interviewer as an "American campaigner for whores'rights". In Dutch and English, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (9 min).

• Promotional Gallery - a gallery of vintage promotional materials for Broken Mirrors.

• Trailers - a collection of trailers for other Cult Epics releases.

Broken Mirrors Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The message of Broken Mirror is as subtle as a brick through a window. Oddly, for a short period of time, I thought that Lineke Rijxman's character could make some interesting decisions to reset her life and rediscover happiness. Sadly, her misery was just a pretext for the delivery of the tired message. Cult Epics' release is sourced from a recent, very nice 4K master, but I think that the technical presentation could have been more convincing.