Both verbs mean “perceive visual information”. However, mirar suggests an active perception: we focus on the object and pay attention to it. On the contrary, ver involves a passive perception:

– ¿Ves esa casa? = Can you see that house?
– Sí, la veo = Yes, I can see it

 ¿Por qué no me miras? = Why aren’t you looking at me?

So, basically, mirar corresponds to "to look", and ver, to "to see".

¡Ojo! In Spanish we never say "poder ver" (literally, "can see"), we just say "ver".

Therefore, we use mira to attract attention, and ya veo when we understand something:

¡Mira! ¡Hay tres Porsches delante de tu casa! = Look! There are three Porsches in front of your house!

– ¿Ves cómo es mejor levantarse pronto? = See how it is better to get up early?
– Ya veo = I see

As for films, TV, and exhibitions, do we use ver or mirar?

In fact, the answer is different in Spain and Latin America. Spanish people ven películas y ven la tele, *mirar la tele sounds absurd to them, it’s like looking at the TV. While people from Latin America miran la tele. There is no watch-like verb in Spanish, use ver instead.

Curiously, the imperative of the verb ver sounds bad. That is why many Spanish prefer to say

– Si te interesa esta película, mírala (insted of *vela, which sounds strange)

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