Akira Kurosawa's Dreams
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Movie Reviews of Akira Kurosawa's Dreams
Movie Review: Beautiful
Summary: 5 Stars
In just eight "dreams," Akira Kurosawa managed to capture my attention and, most importantly, my heart. These many stories, some on the personal level individually and some on the personal level culturally, continue to evoke thought and emotion the whole way.Amazingly, I can see these dreams in sections themselves. The first two, "Sunshine Through the Rain" and "The Peach Orchard" both involve a young Kurosawa (we can assume). While "Sunshine" may take a dark and very depressing turn, "Orchard" offers some hope in its symbolic ending of the lone orchard and the young boy going after the girl.
The third dream, "The Blizzard," seemed at first to me like a story all its own, but the book "The Films of Akira Kurosawa," by Donald Richie, explains it as the tale of an "adolescent Kurosawa," although I would prefer to guess it as a fictional "mountain man Kurosawa" as the next tale offers a fictional "officer Kurosawa." (again, to quote Richie) Lost in a snow storm, the adolescent Kurosawa sees a "yuki-onna," or snow-woman, who warms him until the storm lifts and it reveals their camp. When I first saw this tale I thought it was the slowest thing I had ever seen, but the second time it was far more fascinating. The sound affects are well done, and the shots of the pure white blizzard and dark shapes of the four struggling men became beautiful in a haunting manner. And, of course, the yuki-onna was a nice touch.
The fourth dream is called "The Tunnel" and shows us an "officer Kurosawa" returning from the war. As he walks through a long tunnel he is revisited by his former comrades-in-arms...who had been lost in the war. This reflects the inner feelings of many Japanese soldiers returning from WWII, feeling as if they had failed their nation and their friends, and the agony of returning defeated with no gain in sight.
The next few films take a young adult Kurosawa in different dream-like circumstances, most often as observer. To me, these are the most fascinating ones, as the Kurosawa character in each is more of an observer, asking characters in his dream at what is happening and why. Starting with "Crows," Kurosawa actually ENTERS an Impressionist painting, heading off to meet Van Gogh in person. He continues to travel through different paintings as if they were real environments, which Kurosawa once explained in person he would often imagine himself doing when he looked upon great pieces of art. I have to confess that this sequence is a double-plus for me...not only is it done by my favorite film maker Akira Kurosawa, but Van Gogh is played by Martin Scorcese, another film maker I adore.
The next two sequences, "Mount Fuji in Red" and "The Weeping Demon" portray nightmares about a Japan that might be. The first is a more possible story about a nuclear fallout of Japan's nuclear power plants - which causes Mount Fuji to erupt and howl like an awakened god. Some consider this as nothing more than another anti-nuclear sentiment from Japan, but I believe it to be instead a classic Japanese nightmare of a horrible event happening on their island and they have no where to run to - a similar type of story was done in a 1960's about Japan sinking into the sea and no one offering any aide to the survivors. "Demon" tells the story of Japan after a nuclear war, combining apocalyptic storytelling with Japanese legend. The Kurosawa character comes across a deformed man with one horn, called an oni but in actuality a victim of radiation. Society has become nothing but demons who eat each other based on a class system, but every night howling in pain caused by their horns. The shot of the entire oni race howling and walking about as humanity's doomed future is perhaps one of the most frightening shots I've seen on film.
The final dream, "Village of the Watermills," is actually fairly positive after the last two. Kurosawa comes across a village of primitive people and has a chat with an old man fixing a new watermill. Much of it is the old man's philosophy on life and how society is going, including the efforts of science and technology.
While this film may not have the narrative storyline or be fast-paced enough for some, I have found this film to be very meditative. Some images, including the blizzard as well as the dance of the dolls, can be very hypnotic, and by the end of the film I even found myself watching during the credits to observe the plants in the water. Obviously this was a very personal work, but it is also a very moving one at that. It was also meditative in sense of emotion, for I feel so many different things watching this: I feel sadness in "Sunshine," I feel sentimental in "Tunnel," I feel horrified in "Demon," and hopeful in "Village." In being personal with himself, Kurosawa has made this film personal for the viewer. I am not Japanese, and I don't pretend to be, but I am also human - and human sentiment is what this film is all about.
Movie Review: Superb, more for buying than renting
Summary: 5 Stars
There are eight dream sequences in the DVD. They are totally independent and do not have anything to do with each other, so each one is like a 'short story' yet they stand on their own as complete films and each one is told with the pertinent imagery, language and pace that is typical of dreaming. This is so well done that we feel at times we are either dreaming the movie or seeing a projection of someone's dreams as they happen. I do not know of any better rendition of the dream state in film, this is an extraordinary accomplishment and one of Kurosawa's greatest achievements.Yet we should also be aware that the subject of dreams is much more relevant and important within the Japanese cultural context than in ours. From an earlier date, one of their greatest literary novels is titled "As I crossed a Bridge of Dreams" (11th Century) and through the centuries to modern times it is a recurrent theme, that in the 20th century was best expressed by Yukio Mishima's main character in the tetralogy "Sea of Fertility" ,Kiyoaki Matsugae, who keeps a dream diary, which actually predicts the developments of events in the novel.
Here is the List of Dreams in the film:
1-A Peach Orchard 2-Mount Fuji in Red 3-The Tunnel 4-The Weeping Demon 5-The Blizzard 6-Crows 7-Sunshine through the Rain 8-The Village in the Watermills
I Have not listed them in order, The first is Sunshine through the Rain, a beautiful fairy tale seeing through the eyes of a child, which is the same theme of the second, with another tale, yet both are totally different. Each one of these tales is a separate dream, and like all dreams they have their own rules that only make sense there. The cinematography is masterful even by Kurosawa standards, for all the dreams, but particularly spectacular in these first two in showing simultaneously the nature of Japan, and the traditional deities of Shinto, Japan's ancient pagan religion that preceded Buddhism and Zen, and is still part of the country's cultural core.. Crows is about a gallery visitor that actually climbs inside a Van Gogh painting and pursues Van Gogh through the fields. Martin Scorcesse plays Van Gogh beautifully, this was like a fantasy trip. The Blizzard is about a snowstorm in the mountains involving a climbing team, and is more like a short hallucination that one of the mountain climbers has for a moment, before he wakes and continues climbing.
Mount Fuji in Red is the horrifying nightmare of several atomic plants that explode around the volcano, with fearsome yet beautiful impact. It is Kurasawa's commentary on atomic energy, which along with the 'genius' of Einstein has aged very badly in Contemporary culture. It is worth noting that he belongs, along with Marx and Freud, to a group of scientist philosophers from the 19th Century that really believed in progress, and the three have largely failed in 'changing the world' and have become instead clearly passé. In the age of ozone layer pollution, irreversible atomic waste, Capitalist Russia/China and Prozac, all these once grand hopes and dreams of progress have faded or evaporated altogether. The Weeping Demon is another dream that dwells in the post atomic, post modern world which has become a nightmare, and here Kurosawa goes back to the very beginning of film history to scenery reminiscent of Giuseppe De Liguoro's "L'Inferno ", a 1910 film setting for Dante's Inferno that was extremely influential in establishing the iconography, and landscapes of the hellish universe, which looks very much like the world of the Weeping Demon. The tunnel is a war story that will be particularly touching to the military minded. It is Kurosawa's commentary on war in which a captain remembers his lost platoon, and they come back from the dead, first one man, then all of them in formation to be dismissed by him one last time. The Village in the Watermills is the closing dream. It is also a tale of nature and traditional values in contrast to the modern world, deeply philosophical and beautiful.
Movie Review: A Study of Death and Beauty
Summary: 5 Stars
"Sun Under the Rain" is the first short film in this "movie." As rain cascades onto a slate gray house, a young boy is told he must stay home. Soon his curiosity compels him to wander in the forest. The sunlight filters through mist weaving its way through the giant trees in layers of enchanting vertical art. At times the rain appears like glitter against the wet rust bark. There is a sense of mystery as the young boy hides behind a tree and watches a fantastical wedding procession. Upon returning home he is told he must face his fear and ask forgiveness (or die) for watching the fox's wedding procession. We are then rewarded with fields of flowers and a rainbow.
This is the first in a series of eight short dreams that seem to be dealing with various elements of death. In the first movie, there is a choice between death or asking forgiveness. This introduces the idea of death and in the next short film about a peach orchard, the idea is taken one step further. The peach orchard is cut down and this introduces the idea of death in nature. Tree spirits discuss their tragic end with the child and dance in four magical rows where the trees were planted. As a child cries over the loss of the peach blossoms he says: "Peaches can be bought. But where can you buy a whole orchard of blossoms?" The first two films contain magical elements to surprise and delight the inner child.
The Blizzard and Avalanche will try your patience at first, but as with many of the films, your patience is well rewarded. Just as we are losing hope, a snow goddess arrives and seems to be an angel of death lulling a climber into sleep, as if to calmly steal his soul while the wind whips her hair in an erotic dance of nature. As he lays covered in snow, she places layers of what appears to be a magical shawl over his shoulders. She keeps saying things like: "The ice is hot." I kept thinking this was a study in hope and yet the elements of death were very present. Expect the unexpected in this section.
The Tunnel brings us to the concept of fearing the unknown or not accepting our death. The walking dead appear and there is a sense of having lived an unfulfilled life or dying for causes that were not worth more than life itself. This is when Akira Kurosawa starts to delve into political aspects and death's stark reality in war. Another film shows the dangers of nuclear power and Mt Fuji glows with a ruby shimmer and seems to be melting. The images of the demons in pain gave me nightmares the night after I watched this movie. The images of blood-red lakes and demons, in what seems like emotional and physical agony, was enough to make me dream about hell. In fact the night after I viewed these short films, I had many "short film dreams" of my own.
One of my favorite sections is "Crows," where an artist steps into a Van Gogh painting. The film has many surprises, but very little plot. Mostly we are viewing two painters walking through their own art and discussing their view of the world. Crows is much more about visual delight and a surprising ending.
"The Village of the Watermills," takes place in a picturesque village complete with a dreamy river and little bridges. Here death is celebrated and life is revered. The water rushes over long flowing underwater grass growing from the riverbed. We are faced with questions about our modern reality. Is it as comforting as living in a village? Is our modern village somewhat lacking in community? Do our funerals focus too much on our sorrow and less on the celebration of a life well lived?
I watched this twice and noticed quite a few new elements on the second viewing.
I want to go sit by the river in the Watermill village and watch the long grass weave back and forth in the water and the child in me wants to be walking in the front of the funeral procession, tossing flower petals in front of the dancers.
~The Rebecca Review
Movie Review: Beautiful And Visually Stunning Masterpiece Of Cinema!
Summary: 5 Stars
"Dreams," by Akira Kurosawa is a beautiful and breathtaking tapestry of cinematic expression. These are Kurosawa's dreams, and what he believed were the problems facing man and his environment. I was lucky enough to watch this remarkable film at a theater many years ago in Los Angeles, shortly after its release. I was so impressed with the visuals in the film that they stayed with me for days. Weeks even! If you have not seen this great work of art, I would highly recommend you do. I have always found this film to be one of the most beautiful films in cinema. There are many visually stunning films around, but this film is in a league of its own. The colors are so impressive, one could easily call it a 'painting on screen.' I also hope that some day CRITERION will take this film and give their touch. Not that I am complaining with the present DVD. However, the film does deserve better, and would benefit from that magnificent CRITERION touch that it so rightfully deserves.
There are 8 episodes [vignettes] in this Kurosawa cinematic delight. Each are great in its own way. Moreover, they are ALL visually stunning and beautiful. Each have a story, yet all overlap with each other to some degree, and deal with mans disharmony with nature. Something that Kurosawa was deeply concerned about in his life. The film boasts some of the most wonderful and delightful colors on film that are sure to captivate you. Not to mention the stories themselves. The film is a visual painting on the screen. Everyone will have that one episode that they will like the most. And for me, that episode is the last one titled "Village of the Watermills." I wish I could find such a place! Maybe in my dreams? And of course, the perfect choice by Kurosawa for the role of the old man is played by the late actor Chishu Ryu, who starred in so many great films, and was a favorite regular in many of the films by the late great Japanese director, Yasujiro Ozu.
It was a delight for me to see Chishu Ryu in Village of the Watermills," my favorite episode, as Ryu was in the classic Yasujiro Ozu film, "Tokyo Story," which has always been one of my favorite films. "Village of the Watermills," is a great episode that I have watched numerous times. It is an episode that celebrates life. Death is a natural part of the life cycle, and I especially liked the way that Kurosawa shows us this in the films last episode. And more importantly, how this community, which is in harmony with nature around them, are celebrating the death of a woman who has lived a long and joyous life. There is no sadness, but joy in having known her. The villages occupants treat her death with celebration--as she has lived a long life. Plus, I am always amazed by the interaction with the traveler to this village and the old man (Chishu Ryu). When the old man is being questioned by the traveler, he seems so wise.
For example, when the traveler asks the old man "Why don't you have electricity?" The old man responds, "Because night is supposed to be dark." Or, "If the night were bright you could not see the stars." And when the traveler asks why there are no tractors for the farms, the old man replies, "Because they have horses and cows to tend the farms." Ah, such simplicity. If it were only so. Kurosawa was truly concerned about mans disconnection with his environment, and this episode of this quiet and tranquil village really hit home with me. Peaceful serenity, with man and nature as they were intended to be--in harmony with each other, not at odds. This is a great episode and a magical film. ALL of the episodes are great, some disturbing and others magical. This film is highly, highly recommended.
Movie Review: A circle of life--his own and everyone's
Summary: 5 Stars
Kurosawa's Dreams consists of all his worries about the world and human beings. Since it's one of his last works, his mentality of filming "the Dreams" differed from films such as Seven Samurai in the zenith of his filming career. Instead of presenting the fierce fighting scenes, which he had excelled in, he put more effort into the internalized understandings of human beings, expressing naivete, confusions, struggle, losses, enthusiasm, despair, anger, fear and ultimately internal tranquility¡ªthe natural way of life. It is like a life circle.If you look at Kurosawa's life, these dreams actually imply his own mentalities from childhood and youth to old. The young artist in the movie, who experienced the Crows, Mount Fuji in Red, the Weeping Ghost, and the Village of the Watermills, is himself. As a young man, Kurosawa majored in Western Art, and was greatly influenced and fascinated by Western artists such as Van go. His obsession with art at that time is obvious as "he" was running through the Van go's works. When I was watching the Crow, I was amazed by the setting of the scenes and his capability of shooting, making every aspect look exactly like Van go's work! Kurosawa is a truly versatile director, surely among the rare ones that have such grounded foundation in fine arts. Comparably, he is not as versed in music as in art. I'm especially amazed by his nuanced choices of color in his colored films. (I will talk about the use of color in Ran later, hopefully.) During the precarious time in Japanese history with wars and political movements, as an aspiring educated young man, who witnessed so many human disasters and stupidities, he got somewhat frustrated yet more angry. The characters in many of his "dreams" condemned the inhumanity brought by H-bombs and nuclear missiles¡ªthe big disaster took place in Japan during WW II. It reminds me of his other movie "I Live in Fear". If we look back on his earlier movies, we can see that the main string of Kurosawa's Dreams is a retrospect of ups and downs of his life as well as a summary of many topics in his other movies.
In the end, Kurosawa presents to us an ideal word, out of any form of industrialization, out of any artificial intentions and religions. The world he describes in the village of watermills, a village without a name, (since names themselves are artificial), is the world that is believed in Zen¡ªa belief that was greatly influenced by Taoism (the path) originated in China believing that human beings should live in a harmony of nature and keep of mood of harmony. "End the thinking (unnatural intention), end the pain," is commonly cited in Zen. This revelation of living life as its original form is where Kurosawa found his internal tranquility¡ªin peace. This is also a sincere advice from an experienced old man. The last scene, as the water wheels goes round and round, life goes on and on as an endless circle.