Arizona Dream

Axel is happy with his life in New York, having long since left what remains of his family behind him in Arizona. When his Uncle Leo is getting married, Axel is forced back home by his friend Paul. He finds his Uncle marrying a much younger woman and, while he wishes to leave as soon as he arrives, he finds himself staying around and selling cars with his Uncle – a job he maintains he has to desire to do. It is on the lot that he meets the dysfunctional mother and stepdaughter Elaine and Grace, the former of which he falls for and begins a relationship that evolves into an obsession with building a flying machine. Meanwhile, in stark contrast to his current desert setting, Axel's dreams continue to centre on an Inuit family and a flat fish with its face all on one side.

Well over a decade ago now I used to make much more of an effort to get to my local cinema. At that time I lived near an independent art-house style cinema that, while it showed all the big releases on its two screens, it did also give over time to smaller independent films. It was here that I saw Arizona Dream – a film that I then never saw or heard of for another ten or so years until for some reason I remembered it and decided to watch it again. I couldn't remember much about it apart from a few scenes, nor if I had liked it or not so to all intents and purposes I was coming to it fresh. I say this but by the end of the film I had certainly remembered why I could recall specific scenes and my enjoyment of them but had no strong memory of the total film – the reason being that the film is at its best in small chunks but fails to work as a whole.

The story is this wonderfully off-the-wall tale of love and dreams that fires out outrageous characters with abandon, allowing for many memorable scenes and quotable lines. It is comic, creative, silly and enjoyable. But it is also a bit tiring. The scenes don't come together as I would have liked and the general air of silliness undermines how much I was able to get emotionally involved and care about where the story was going. That it is almost two and a half hours long only serves to highlight this and it really does feel indulgent and unwilling to give anything up. The fault for this certainly lies with Kusturica as writer and director. He certainly has a creative flair to him, an ear for dialogue and an eye for a shot but his approach fragments the film and he doesn't manage to pull the heart of the viewer along with him. He does get good turns from his cast well, all of whom trusted him and seemed to go wherever he wanted them to go. Depp is wonderful as always, so willing to go with it, so willing to try anything and it pays off by him being good here. Lewis was a surprise to me then and was again on this viewing, he is solid in his character and he has this great presence that holds the attention. Gallo is also good although he is helped by how many of the better scenes he is the focal point in. Dunaway and Taylor both deliver their characters well and it is just a shame that their characters are the more "difficult" ones to like within the film – I think they did well though, I just acknowledge that I struggled with them due to their characters.

As with all cult films there will be those that see great beauty in this film and love it beyond all reason. I salute them and I envy them to a point and, while I disagree with them, this does not make them wrong and me right. However to the majority of casual viewers this film will come over as a total curio piece that provides delight and enjoyment in specific scenes but doesn't work as a total film and certainly doesn't have enough to it to justify the overlong running time.

I was Best Boy on this show. The most pleasant movie experience I've had. Gunnison, Nome (in Feb!), Douglas AZ, Nogales AZ, and a ranch near the Mexican border. I just saw the Director's Cut last night in L.A. ------ Where is the 1000' mag Steadicam shot?! We built an entire cyclorama stage in the alley behind the auto dealer, painted outerspace, rigged a Caddy on a forklift, lit it big (including the only Titan arcs that Mole Richardson had working at the time), and flew a wall up and down for various parts of the 10:00 shot. It was great. Where is it!? That scene took lots of work, time, thought, rehearsal, and we were all very proud of it. I think we did 3 takes, and at dailies (upstairs in the deserted department store next to the hotel) the whole crew was thrilled. Where is that shot?!?!?!?!!?

It's very rare that I see a movie that is truly, in all aspects, perfect.

For example, while The Princess Bride ranks pretty high on my list of movies I'd want to spend the rest of my life watching, I fully realize that the camera angles and special effects of that movie are just plain bad. And while Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas gets a perfect 10 from me, it still completely lacks plot. And so on.

Arizona Dream, however, is different.

The last movie I saw that was truly, in all aspects, perfect was Dog Day Afternoon, a 1975 true story starring Al Pacino and Chris Sarandon. For the longest time, it's been my obsession, my movified bible, everything other movies should aspire to be. And as of today, Dog Day Afternoon finally has competition in my personal top ten: Emir Kusturica's masterpiece very near surpasses Lumet's vision of captivating dialogue, insane details, and dodgy man-groping.

Let's change the subject for a bit. Do you know the scene in Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys, where Bruce Willis is in his cage, and a hamster is running inside a wheel in the corner? Don't say yes, because you don't. It's inaudible. It's impossible to see. But it's there. Kusturica, much like Gilliam, is willing to make his world more detailed than your wildest dreams. His backgrounds are filled with symbolism and surrealism, his dark corners filled with soft puppies. And like Gilliam, he can make you cry with laughter, your only worry in the world being, 'how will I remember all these great quotes in the morning?'

But unlike Gilliam, Kusturica has the power to, barely a scene after the happy happy joy, make you sit there in stunned silence, your number one worry in the world being, 'how will I get my brain to understand the sheer tragedy that is unfolding here?'. Your will find yourself thinking, 'how do I get my mind to comprehend how perfectly this music fits the dialogue?'. Your eyes will follow the camera angles, the expressions of the insanely lovable characters, the many things happening in foreground and background-and you know, you just KNOW, that you will have to watch the movie again, and again, and again.

If you're a fan of movies such as Big Fish and Amélie, movies about people finding happiness and warmth in a world of surreal ambition, Arizona Dream will be your next obsession. But even if you think massive explosions and a grunting Bruce Willis are the only thing that can make a movie worth watching, you will still want to give this movie a chance- for the 'explosions' it causes will far, far surpass anything you've EVER experienced before.

10/10.

Having seen this movie, I felt rather strange. This bubbly feeling in my gut kept me up in the night. I felt I had to do something for this film, confess my love in a letter, send it flowers, buy it Champagne. It left me gasping. I wanted more. So the rest of the night I watched the special features on the DVD.

I realise that it is sad to have emotions about a film that would usually be reserved for living beings, however I am completely unashamed. If this movie was a man, I'd do unspeakable things to it. I don't care what it's "about". I don't give a monkey's about any "plot" that it may or may not have. I have not searched for anything that everybody conditioned to Hollywood films, however good or bad they may be, inevitably searches for in a film. Why do you need to be spoonfed? Can you not just completely let go and enjoy a work of art for its mere beauty?

Sorry, journeying into pretentious land.

This is undoubtedly my absolute favourite Johnny Depp film, it used to be a toss up between Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Dead Man, but I admit that this surpasses them by a fraction. I'd actually like to say that I preferred Dead Man, but I, um, didn't. Sorry. I feel I have cheated on Dead Man.

There are certain scenes in Arizona Dream that show things about Johnny Depp as a performer that I never would have suspected. In this film he stepped into a realm shared by characters in the films of Fellini and Brunuel. It pleases me that he can do art house as fantastically as this and do mainstream as well, although I do not entirely approve of the stuff that is too mainstream (I.E. Pirates).

His character is beautifully complex, he is a kook, but a sexy kook, and he is everything else besides. The other performances are also wonderful. Gallo is a nutcase, Taylor needs therapy, Dunaway is at the same time tyrannical and naive. Sure the characters contradict themselves, but don't we? It just keeps it all the more desirable and fascinating.

For anybody who appreciates surrealist art, this is a must see. For anybody who appreciates Johnny Depp, there is no question that this film is absolutely essential.

They say that "Arizona Dream" is Kusturica's best work because it is American, well, it's not that American despite it was filmed there and probably is about the American dream, it is just a story of people's lives, like in all Kusturica's films, and it's just a great work of a great film director, not depending on geographical factors. The characters aren't sexy lady journalists or successful businessmen , they are those who we call usual people - but no one in the world is usual for we aren't made at a factory, and daily routine is much more interesting, and much more humane then any sci-fi-hi-tech-futuristic stuff. all the characters are a bit crazy and so is everything around. There's some magic in there , and something tragic, and everyone's little private dreams, useless and sweet , and relations between people which seem to be one thing but are absolutely another, though the people tied by them may never notice them or never admit, and love all the way through.