Akira Kurosawa's Dreams

Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams is an interesting piece of work. The film consists of eight different segments that are based on Kurosawa’s own dreams. From beginning of the film to the end, Kurosawa takes us on a journey from the woods to the peach orchards to the inside of one of Van Gogh’s painting and even to a nuclear explosion. Some dreams come off as surreal while other are complete nightmares.

The first dream segment in the film involves a little boy. He is told by some woman about how the so-called foxes come out to have their weddings during this time when the sun is shining bright. The woman warns him to not go watch the ceremony. However, the boy defies the orders and goes out into the woods and watches the wedding, which happens very slowly take place. Eventually, the boy is spotted by them and runs. When he returns home, he is locked out and the woman hands him a knife that the foxes gave her to give the boy so he can kill himself. She tells him that he must go to them and beg for their forgiveness. The last scene of the film is probably the best looking in terms of cinematography with the boy walking across the field towards the mountains that has a rainbow crossing over it. The theme of this segment is definitely to do what your told and that consequences comes with disobeying and you have to face it.

Another segment in the film is called “The Peach Orchard.” In the segment, a festival is taking place where the peach trees go into full bloom. The boy’s family, however, cut down the peach trees. His sister has a collection of dolls that represent the trees. The boy see a girl running through the house and takes off following her to the now treeless orchard. In place of the trees, are her doll’s now and they do a song and dance and eventually turn into fully bloomed trees. When the boy goes up the hill to look at them, they have turned backed to the dead trees. He does find one peach tree sprouting again tho. The editing is this segment is very well done and the music is also very good in the segment. The theme of this story is obviously love for nature and how people have a connection to it such as the boy who felt horrible for the trees being cut down.

Kurosawa also goes into some nightmarish segments. One is about a nuclear plant explosion at Mount Fuji, and another involves a soldier feeling guilty for the lost of his men. The nuclear explosion segment seems to represent how man will be downfall of itself by way of technology. In all the film, the soldier segment was probably the one with the most impact. a soldier approaches a tunnel and first has an encounter with a dog that seems from hell. The dog is shown using a red tint. The soldier enters the tunnel through the darkness to the other side. One of his soldiers, that he had charge over emerges. His face is blue symbolizing that he is dead. The soldier persuades him that he is dead and returns to the tunnel only to re-emerge with the whole platoon. The soldier explains to him the guilt he has for sending them to their deaths in war and commands them one last time to go back into the tunnel. The segment ends with the dog emerging again.

The Last segment of the film involves a man stumbling upon a village that consists of watermills. The set design is amazing in the segment showing the peacefulness and surreal beauty of a village that has no modern technology. The man meets an older guy and they have a chat. The segment ends with the man witnessing a funeral possession that is upbeat as the play music and dance as they carry the person to their burial spot. The theme of this segment is definitely how technology does not have control every day life and people can survive with nature alone and not rely on technology.

This film was very interesting. It was very experimental and well-made in terms of production. The film has great cinematography and sets whether it be the boy walking into the mountains, the inside of a Van Gogh painting, Mount Fuji illuminated by a sky of red, or the peaceful village of waterfalls. The editing is smooth but some segments are extremely slow moving and could have been edited a little tighter to create a faster pace expecially for “the Weeping Demon” segment of the film. Overall though, the film does a great job in showing how great a director Akira Kurosawa is.