Akira Kurosawa’s beautifully lyrical and spectacular Dreams is based more on imagery than dialogue, but it still contains an incredible amount of broad ideas and striking poetry. The film consists of several dreams experienced by Kurosawa throughout his lifetime. The broader truth contained in the dreams he brings to life reveals the heart of the legendary filmmaker and shows an imagination that is unrivalled, even among the true film greats.
Dreams is not a film that can simply be dissected and partitioned into various categories. It is a deeply profound set of visions, some puzzling and some magical, that comprise a free form journey through the mind of Kurosawa. It is interesting to note that Dreams was released in 1990, amid a storm of Hollywood actioners and fart jokes that would likely sweep right over the beautiful poetry of the master without many taking notice. But Kurosawa, ever defiant, wouldn’t simply make a movie to fall in line. He was eighty years old at the time he decided to reveal his innermost thoughts to the world.
The cast of Dreams is not overly important, as this is not a film about acting or admiring performances. It is a film about art and imagination. Kurosawa utilizes free form filmmaking here, telling his story segments without much rhyme or reason. Often considered a parade of images, Dreams is a tapestry of metaphors, puzzles, and delightful games. The trickery of Kurosawa’s mind manifests itself in the fox weddings and snow blizzards in the film, making for a wonderful treat for the patient, thoughtful filmgoer.
A scene by scene exposition doesn’t do this film justice. It simply must be experienced as a whole, taking in by a dreamer, and processed through a vigorous imagination. Cohesion is not important, nor is precision. Instead, Kurosawa’s window to the soul is all about the meandering soul of filmmaking. For many, this approach will be boring and tedious. For Kurosawa’s fans, however, this is a necessary element to appreciating the master and his career. It is almost a pilgrimage.
The direction is, of course, beautiful and steeped in colour and majesty. There are moments, such as when the nuclear explosion brings down Mount Fuji, that show a greater purpose. Indeed, Kurosawa’s gorgeous filmmaking is focused on nature and on our betrayal of it. He, wiser than us, saw the world in ruins as we now debate reality. Kurosawa’s attention to natural law, natural order, and the wilderness is something we should be envious of, something we should learn from. There is no confliction when it comes to his descriptions of nature, the beasts of the world, and what we must do.
Kurosawa’s Dreams deserve to be examined, pulled apart, and experienced by trained eyes. It’s no coincidence that the likes of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg would admire the man. And it’s no accident that Martin Scorsese stars in Dreams as Vincent Van Gogh. This isn’t simply art for art’s sake. It is so much more. It is, quite literally, what it feels like to dream out loud.
9/10
