Dersu Uzala
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Movie Reviews of Dersu Uzala
Movie Review: Dersu Uzala
Summary: 5 Stars
Kurosawa at his finest. A poignant, sad, and at times humorous tale of an unlikely friendship between two men living very different lives in very different places. A must-see.Movie Review: A classic remastered
Summary: 5 Stars
This was one of my all time favorite movies. What a treat to get to own it on DVD. There is a small amount of poor quality at the beginning, but the rest is fine.Movie Review: Akira Kurosawa is a master
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is all about real friendiship. This is a title that children must see.Movie Review: Someday I may rate it five stars.
Summary: 4 Stars
Someday I may rate this film five stars. I don't mean that to be a flip statement, but a reflection of the fact that sometimes our opinions have to be aged a bit before we can feel we have a firm understanding of the merits of a work of art. At this point I feel sure "Dersu Uzala" is an outstanding film, one in which I am willing to invest more attention to see if my appreciation grows. The reasons I think it may take time to fully appreciate this movie? There seem to me to be a lot of things suggested by symbolism in the film that are not overtly explained or clarified by action or dialogue. But, on the other hand, I may be misreading the symbolism or reading too much into it. Thus, the need for further investigation. For instance, I get a strong impression that the characters in the movie more or less all represent ideas or aspects of humanity larger than themselves. I think many reviewers have mentioned that this film was Kurosawa's first effort following a suicide attempt caused by rejection of some of his previous films. Knowing this fact alone would make you tend to suspect there might be traces of this spiritual struggle embodied as artistic statement in Dersu Uzala. The very fact that this story takes place in a wilderness, a place where you can easily become lost or disoriented, could have some connection to Kurosawa's state of mind when he attempted suicide. In an early scene the Russian explorers feel a sense of oppression at the desolation and loneliness of the landscape, which seems to harbor a malevolent force within it. At night their campfire weirdly illuminates the twisted tree branches and suggests a witches sabbath to the Russian captain. It seems reasonable to me there could be an identification here with the condition of soul Kurosawa had recently endured. Then, out of the darkness comes Dersu, a gnomish, rotund, archaic being full of practical wisdom, who becomes a guide and saviour for the fumbling Russians. Dersu seems to be an archtypal figure. Is he, perhaps, a personification of a spiritual force which Kurosawa summoned from his own inner being, a primeval instinct and will for survival? That is the primary concept which suggested itself to me as I watched the film, but of course, other interpretations are possible, and I may well be off the mark. The point is, though, that there is a subtlety to this story which suggests more than the somewhat simple surface story of a band of Russian cartographers exploring the Siberian wilderness, guided by a colorful aboriginal hunter. It is also well-known that Kurosawa lavished incredible attention on every scene to produce the effects he wanted, so it is likely there are very few noticeable details in this film that are not there for a very specific reason. Our attention is specifically directed to the way in which Dersu views the entire world of nature as being animated by spirit; how his harmony with the environment allows him to gather information from natural phenomena; and how this contrasts with the unappreciative and unobservant Russians, who, I would hazard a guess, represent civilized man more than Russians per se. I think it is important to try to see how the visual representation of the story might reinforce any of these concepts. I was somewhat surprised there were not more sweeping panoramic shots of the wilderness. For the most part, the camera view stays confined to a perspective of how we might see the people in the film if we were traveling with them. The main focus is on humans and their immediate surroundings. That there are few facial closeups seemed to me to reinforce the idea that he was not so much dealing with individuals as universals. All this is speculation, but these hints lead me to think that eventually a deeper and more comprehensive appreciation for the movie will settle out in my mind. For me, it will take more viewings to resolve this question. I may decide I was deluding myself about deeper meanings, but I am sure that the film can be enjoyed even on a surface level. Most people, I think, would be charmed by the friendship that arises between the refined Russian captain and the primitive hunter, with his earthy wisdom and basic decency. But viewed strictly as an adventure story, many folks used to the frenetic pace of modern Hollywood films might find the going pretty slow.Movie Review: Kurosawa's great adventure film set on the Russian Far East
Summary: 4 Stars
Kurosawa made this Japanese-Russian co-production after a three year hiatus, reportedly after a suicide attempt caused by the failure of his previous film. This film won the Foreign Film Oscar, so it was sort of a comeback film for Kurosawa. Based on a real story, the movie is set in the Russian far east in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Basically, is about a Russian captain and explorer befriending a native called Dersu Uzala (of the ethnic group which today is referred as the nanai), after he saves his live during a snow storm. Most of the movie then deals with their friendship as they explore and hunt together in the wilds of eastern Siberia. When Dersu's vision no longer makes him able to hunt, the Russian brings him to the city to live with his family. But for a man who has always lived in the woods, urban civilization seems very strange, so he pleads to the captain to return to his native place. Unfortunately, time has not passed in vain, and in the woods he will find an early demise. It's a great adventure film, though one wonders if the relations between the Russians and the Siberian natives were always as friendly as this movie shows. One detail: though some of the movie was shot on location, other parts are shot in a studio, pretending to be a forest, and sadly, that shows. Still, I think this is among one of Kurosawa's great films (though not among the very best).