Rêves

Truly one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. I saw this film for the first time in 1993 and it was placed forever in my mind as one of my greatest cinematic experiences. I agree with what another reviewer said about this film, that it is not for everyone. It is very artistic in that the cinematography carries a lot of the story and some may become bored with it. Hollywood has a way of brainwashing a lot of viewers into needing a lot of dialog or action. If that's what you're after, you wont find it here. You have to use your brain for this one. This movie is Japanese and what little dialog there is, is in subtitled for the American viewer. So you may need to do a little reading. This is not simply a movie; it is several short, amazing stories that stem from the mind of Akira Kurosawa (a genius in my book). One is like a beautiful fairytale and another is a nightmarish fable and still another is a terribly haunting ghost story, there are others but all are done very well. This film needs to be seen in the letterbox format as it was intended. The cinematography, as I said earlier, contributes so much that it should be viewed completely. I really don't know what else to say about this movie except that if you have an artistic streak and like to see how movies can become art I would highly recommend Yume (Dreams).

Sentimentally I love this film, made by Kurosawa when he was 80 and one of his last. The great director gives us eight vignettes that often seem more like messages than dreams, speaking to the danger of nuclear power, damaging the environment, and senseless death in war. Guilt is a recurring theme, and as the film covers childhood to old age, it seems very personal to Kurosawa's own life. The images are often beautiful, and I absolutely loved dream #5, "Crows," where an art student runs through Van Gogh's paintings and meets him. The highlighted work, "Wheatfield with Crows" is so profoundly meaningful to the end of Van Gogh's life that seeing it here in the elderly Kurosawa's work gave me goosebumps. I didn't mind the preachiness that's in several of the other dreams too much, though it did take away from the film's surreal feeling, but the bigger issue was pace, which was almost always too slow. It's a must-watch film for fans of Kurosawa and I'm glad I saw it, but it needing paring down.

I am not inclined to post my opinion on web pages. In fact, this is the first time that I feel compelled to let my words be heard on the web. However, having read from other users that "Yume" is "a waste of time" and "too personal" to be enjoyed, I was so disappointed that I felt the right time to speak up had come.

I am the first one to agree that this is not a film for everyone. It is actually far from that. Alas, in this world where the vastest majority of people feel that the necessary and sufficient condition for a film to be good is to have as much special effects as possible, "Yume" sadly faces no other fate than to be overlooked by almost everybody.

It is those few people that might consider watching this film that have the opportunity to appreciate its full greatness. There are still many hurdles on the way, though. For many Western people, including myself, the fact that "Yume" orbits around Japanese legends is a big obstacle to overcome, as we are not well acquainted with their meaning. I am convinced that Kurosawa's "Dreams" conceal much of their true objective to us who are not familiar enough with the Japanese culture.

But my advice is: forget these problems. There are thousands of other details to enjoy. From just a cinematographic point of view, Kurosawa's mastery of colour is unrivaled, and a sound reason to watch this film, yet not the only one by far. The true value of "Yume", in my opinion, is the use of the parabolas presented disguised as dreams to teach us a way of life. The absurdity of war. The beauty of nature. The need to preserve our environment. In summary: a praise to life. And yet, Kurosawa being old himself when he filmed his "Dreams", looks at death and presents it as the last station of a wonderful journey. Carpe diem, yes, but not to the point of being scared. Life will follow its course as does the river at the end of the movie, with or without us being here to enjoy it. Just be thankful for the small things in life; they are the most important. Enjoy them while you can and you will leave this existence in peace with yourself.

"Yume" is one of these small, humble things, so humble that it can be overlooked by many. It would be a waste. Don't let this happen to you. You would miss a true masterpiece. You would miss Kurosawa's way of life.

Going back to what made Akira Kurosawa a star, Dreams is a film driven by a completely original concept. Like Rashomon, this is something that had never been done before. To my knowledge, nobody since has had the skill or guts to make a movie that accurately captures the spirit of........ bizarre Dreams. These stories are filmed and written just like real dreams. They're full of strange events that most of the time make no sense, yet everyone in the story totally believes it to be normal.

My favourite segments are "The Tunnel", as story where a former military commander encounters the ghosts of all the soldiers who died under his command. The Commander explaining why his soldiers died is hands down the best acting in the movie. My second favourite wold be "The Peach Orchard". This is about a young boy that finds a group of living dolls in the fields. The dolls are furious that the boy's family have destroyed all the peach tress in the Orchard. This segment was the most dreamlike. My third favourite would be "Mount Fuji In Red". In that there is a nuclear meltdown. Panic spreads and a few survivors contemplate whether or not to end their lives.

In traditional Kurosawa fashion, this movie is visually breathtaking. Kurosawa films don't just look great, they look unique and interesting. The visuals in Dreams helps create the hypnotic dream-like state. In the "Crows" story, a man enters the world of a Van Gogh painting. Parts of the scenery here are natural landscapes, and parts are made to look like a painting. In "Blizzard" mountain climbers are on the verge of death. They're rescued by a snow spirit. The blinding snow and the sort of slow motion effect when you see the Snow Fairy makes this segment perhaps the most hypnotic images Kurosawa has ever produced.

I wouldn't want anyone to get the idea that this is just a bunch of unconnected segments. Several characters appear in various segments, and some are meant to play back to back. I have to say that Dreams may not be for everyone. I'd recommend everyone alive check it out, though. Some may love it, some may not understand it. I'm on the side of this being one of the last brilliant works of the World's greatest Director.

"Dreams" is one of the greatest puzzles to hit the screen since Tetris. If you're up for the challenge, you should definitely give it a try. Here Kurosawa presents us with 8 fragments which may seem confusing at first, but ultimately they tell a powerful story of man's evolution beginning at childhood in a traditional setting, taking us through adulthood, war and waste, to a postapocalyptic future that could be called "scifi", and ultimately capping the story with a stunning piece I won't ruin for you.

The story loosely follows a character called "I" as he grows up in his dreams. He is presented as merely an observer, almost like the faceless interviewer in "Citizen Kane," or for you literature fans he may remind you a lot of Dante in the epic "Divine Comedy". That is, he observes humankind through its sins. Aye, don't be fooled by Kurosawa's gorgeous, bright, uplifting visuals; this is perhaps Kurosawa's darkest tale.

The 8 stories are: 1) As a young child, he inadvertantly disrupts a secret ritual of foxes in the forest. 2) Still a child, he meets the ghosts of trees that his family destroyed. 3) Now a young adult, he is the leader of an ill-fated mountain expedition visited by a mysterious spirit. 4) Older yet, past the age of youthful fire, he is a soldier returning from a terrible war and haunted by ghosts of his battalion. 5) Now a middle aged artist, he encounters the ghost of Vincent Van Gogh. 6) Abruptly he finds himself in the middle of a (deliberately) insane disaster flick. 7) The scifi segment where he wakes up in a postapocalyptic future full of cannibal demons (yes, Kurosawa made a zombie flick). And ultimately 8) The one I won't mention because it's for you see how it all ends.

All 8 stories follow the same theme of "I" meeting ghosts who tell of man's sins. Worthy of note is our hero's passivity which is itself one of the failings of man. As "I" grows up and faces increasingly devastating consequences for humankind's shortsightendess, we realize Kurosawa's poignant message. Each "dream" is a stark warning.

If you watch this film, I suggest paying close attention to 1 subtle but important thing. Notice Kurosawa's use of "special effects" because that is the key to a deeper message. In the beginning when "I" is a child, the special effects (forest spirits) are merely people dressed up in elaborate masks--a very childlike way of perceiving fantasy. In the young adult segments, the special effects (ghosts of soldiers) are disturbingly realistic yet stylized. In middle age, the excellent Van Gogh segment, the special effects are magnificently overwhelming, literally engulfing the entire screen. Then for the 2 climactic "scifi" segments, suddenly the effects are almost absurd like a cheesy disaster flick (this was deliberate. Kurosawa even enlisted the assistance of his friend Ishiro Honda who directed a few Godzilla flicks). And we end on the 8th magical segment which has no special effects at all.

Kurosawa was telling us a story through the evolution of visuals, just as much as he was telling us a story of sequential events. If you can follow these and other clues that are peppered throughout, you'll realize that "Dreams" has a very clear path and a very cryptic but powerful story. So put down your sodoku; this is the real deal.