I was pleasantly surprised with dreams, not only in terms of content but also aesthetically. There are very few films that manage to embody personal, local and global concerns as Akira Kurosava has managed in this production. There are so many underlying topics that it is difficult to concentrate in just a few for the purpose of this review, but I believe it is fair to say that Dreams portrays our individual and collective dreams and nightmares, reflecting that sometimes what we dream of today is what will keep us awake tomorrow. A nice range of representations of concerns from the deepest and most personal childhood worries and fantasies to the more complex issues of mental illness, extreme ambition, destruction of our environment and death. In all I recommend this film to anyone who has the chance to see it, It is possible that Dreams may not appeal to a mainstream audience in terms of content because there is a lot of symbolism and critical engagement but the photography and sceneries are for sure something that should not go amiss for anyone. If you get the chance it is truly worth giving it your time, a fantastic experience.
146 Reviews
An art film for thoughtful meditation
raymond-1510 May 2004
Most people dream but I wonder how many are rewarded with such beauty when their eyelids close and they drift into semi-consciousness. Kurosawa has collected some of his dreams and shares them with us. I don't ever remember seeing such vivid colours in my own dreams, but like Kurosawa's they are often fragmented and incomplete with a mystical quality involving spirits and the dead.
I like the peach tree scene where true repentance makes things right. Not only the peach blossom but also the kimono of the characters tiered up the hillside are most pleasing to the eye. As also is the meeting with van Gogh when his paintings with mad whirls of colour are brought to life and form part of the landscape.
Some dreams can be very frustrating when we are caught in a dangerous situation from which there is no ready means of escape. This is dramatically illustrated in the Mt. Fuji episode in which nuclear plants explode and a fog of coloured radio-active gases envelopes the characters. There is a strong message here about saving the environment. This message is also accented in the ogre scene and the peach tree scene and the water mill scene.
Some viewers might find the going slow at times. For example, the mountain climbers struggling in knee-deep snow seem to move at the rate of a few steps each minute and being encouraged by their leader to keep going as they strive to reach their camp. A mystical event occurs and in the morning when the heavy fog clears, a surprise awaits them. This feeling of striving and getting nowhere is common in dreams, at least in mine.
There is also mysticism involved in the tunnel scene where an ex-soldier meets the remainder of his platoon all of whom were killed in battle. The sound of their marching feet echoing through the empty tunnel is quite chilling.
Apart from a few dramatic moments the film is somewhat subdued. It is an art film beautifully conceived and should be reserved for one of those quiet moments when we are in a meditative mood.
I like the peach tree scene where true repentance makes things right. Not only the peach blossom but also the kimono of the characters tiered up the hillside are most pleasing to the eye. As also is the meeting with van Gogh when his paintings with mad whirls of colour are brought to life and form part of the landscape.
Some dreams can be very frustrating when we are caught in a dangerous situation from which there is no ready means of escape. This is dramatically illustrated in the Mt. Fuji episode in which nuclear plants explode and a fog of coloured radio-active gases envelopes the characters. There is a strong message here about saving the environment. This message is also accented in the ogre scene and the peach tree scene and the water mill scene.
Some viewers might find the going slow at times. For example, the mountain climbers struggling in knee-deep snow seem to move at the rate of a few steps each minute and being encouraged by their leader to keep going as they strive to reach their camp. A mystical event occurs and in the morning when the heavy fog clears, a surprise awaits them. This feeling of striving and getting nowhere is common in dreams, at least in mine.
There is also mysticism involved in the tunnel scene where an ex-soldier meets the remainder of his platoon all of whom were killed in battle. The sound of their marching feet echoing through the empty tunnel is quite chilling.
Apart from a few dramatic moments the film is somewhat subdued. It is an art film beautifully conceived and should be reserved for one of those quiet moments when we are in a meditative mood.
Touching and beautiful, but also preachy and slow
gbill-7487712 September 2020
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.
A way of life
stigkardat3 March 2004
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.
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.
So I'm not the only one with weird dreams
unbend_54404 April 2004
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.
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.
Beautiful
plumberguy6628 March 2002
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).
Living is exciting
MrBiddle16 October 2004
Akira Kurosawa's insights on man's need to harmonize with nature, the costs of war and the bad fruits that nuclear power can bear. This is the first Kurosawa movie I have seen, but I can see how true it is that Kurosawa is a master of creating atmosphere in a film. Such as the dark, post-nuclear apocalyptic world of THE WEEPING DEMON. Or the very first episode when the little boy sees something he is not supposed to see in the forest.
I found THE BLIZZARD rather strange, and you'll see a scary part when the mountainman is having his mirage of the beautiful woman who symbolizes the snowstorm. I'm not sure what the significance of the dog was in THE TUNNEL, but I guess it illustrates the fact that though he was the commander of Third Platoon , he felt like a coward because of his command, his men paid the price.... yet he is guilty of still being alive; he's afraid of the dog.
It ends rather low key, but the last episode THE VILLAGE IN THE WATERMILLS is the most insightful and bold in expressing the movie's theme... of harmonizing with nature, and maybe harmonizing with ourselves.
The procession displays the unity and the communal harmony that the villagers have. And it is the exact opposite of what is grieved about in MOUNT FUJI IN RED or THE WEEPING DEMON. The cinematography is just beautiful. The movie is beautiful and captivating.
Akira Kurosawa's YUME is Grade A- 9/10
I found THE BLIZZARD rather strange, and you'll see a scary part when the mountainman is having his mirage of the beautiful woman who symbolizes the snowstorm. I'm not sure what the significance of the dog was in THE TUNNEL, but I guess it illustrates the fact that though he was the commander of Third Platoon , he felt like a coward because of his command, his men paid the price.... yet he is guilty of still being alive; he's afraid of the dog.
It ends rather low key, but the last episode THE VILLAGE IN THE WATERMILLS is the most insightful and bold in expressing the movie's theme... of harmonizing with nature, and maybe harmonizing with ourselves.
The procession displays the unity and the communal harmony that the villagers have. And it is the exact opposite of what is grieved about in MOUNT FUJI IN RED or THE WEEPING DEMON. The cinematography is just beautiful. The movie is beautiful and captivating.
Akira Kurosawa's YUME is Grade A- 9/10
One of the most stunning film-going moments in my life
moviegoer29 January 2000
I cannot say enough about Akira Kurosawa's Dreams. It is visually stunning and creative. It is sumptuous to watch--it stretches the imagination. For people who delight in remembering their own dreams, it is a treasure. There is also a nice variety in the dreams, drawing on Asian and Western themes as well as historical and contemporary cultural commentary. My favorites involve the peach trees, Van Gogh and the waterwheels.
Flawed but fascinating
christomacin12 June 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I do think this is a flawed but often brilliant film. I have a simple suggestion for how to make the film more effective by slightly rearranged the story order. You may still disagree with the environmental politics of the film, but at least Kurosawa's case is more forcefully argued this way.
I think this should be the order:
1) Sunshine Through the Rain 2) The Peach Orchard 3) The Blizzard 4) The Tunnel 5) *Mount Fuji in Red (could also be deleted altogether) 6) The Weeping Demon 7) *Crows (move this episode down two notches) 8) Village of the Watermills
Moving Mount Fuji and Weeping Demon ahead of Crows fulfills several things:
a) Simple cinematic effectiveness:
With The Tunnel the film gets gradually darker, more like nightmares than dreams. The Tunnel has an ominous ending with the barking dog. The stories that immediately following The Tunnel should explore the darker end of things rather than being followed by a lighter story like Crows, which is a mistake for dramatic reasons.
b) This also makes the film's point clearer:
The first two stories feature a young boy. As a child we have a much more innocent relationship to nature. A child might wish to penetrate nature's secrets, but does so innocently. The boy merely wanted to watch the fox wedding. He was caught looking, but meant no real harm. Even so, the boy is rejected by his mother and he is sent on a quest to seek forgiveness from the foxes. A recurring theme in this film is that interfering with nature can have serious consequences. The boy in The Peach Orchard is too young to do anything about the trees being cut down. He simply loves peaches and trees in bloom. At the end the boy realizes how terrible the consequences can be if Man acts against nature.
The following four stories #3-#6 show a fully grown adult (presumably the boy grown up?). In the Blizzard, he is struggling against nature, which he sees as threatening and hostile to him, unlike the boy's less confrontational feelings towards it. An interesting thing in The Blizzard is the ambiguity of the Snow Spirit woman. Is she trying to help the mountain climber or kill him? It is left deliberately obscure. I interpret this to mean that the forces of nature, while very beautiful, can also be deadly. We should show nature the proper respect. Next in The Tunnel, the subject is the ultimate destructive act of Mankind, war. The man claims to have sympathy for his dead troops, which they meekly accept and go back to the grave. However, the company dog is not so easy to fool. It is an animal and does not accept the rationalizations that his men do for being sent to their deaths. The dog is depicted almost as a Hell Hound on the his trail.
This is why Crows MUST NOT following The Tunnel. The Tunnel should have set up the next two stories featuring the fully grown adult. These take the idea of being at war with nature to the most hellish extreme. The dog in the Tunnel acts as an omen and a harbinger of doom which we seen in the nightmares of Mount Fuji and The Weeping Demon. The Weeping Demon is nothing less than a vision of hell on earth. Finally, the last two stories feature an older man (Van Gogh and the village elder respectively) who impart the wisdom of old age to a younger man. These men are totally in harmony with their natural surroundings. Crows plays better if it isn't sandwiched between The Tunnel and Mount Fuji and Weeping Demon. It comes across as irrelevant and lightweight in its present position in the film. FIX IT YOURSELF! Repositioning it makes it seem more effective, even if this doesn't fully address the films other weaknesses.
The village elder in the final episode has the innocence of a second childhood, tempered with a whole lifetime of experience. This is why Crows and Village of the Windmills should be paired together as the last two stories. We have gone from youthful daydreams, to the nightmares of the adult world, into a second rebirth of innocence. The Village of the Windmills is not so much a real place but rather a kind of "Heaven on Earth", the mirror opposite of the Weeping Demon's hell on earth. The Village "has no name", just like in the U2 song "Where the Streets Have No Name", which of course refers to Heaven. I think is a clue that this village is not of this world but rather the next. It is a perhaps impossible dream of total harmony with nature that Mankind can aspire to, though it may be unachievable in this world. If you look at the meaning of Village of the Windmills in this way, the ending is incredibly melancholy, as is the music on the soundtrack.
Perhaps the "dreams" referred to in this film aren't necessarily dreams Kurosawa had while he was sleeping, but his waking dreams and nightmares about Man's relationship with nature. Mount Fuji in Red is the least effective sequence precisely because it is too literal, coming across as even more preachy and didactic than the rest of the film. It feels like something out of a Godzilla movie or an Irwin Allen disaster picture. If we eliminate Mount Fuji, then one story about war follows another. The Tunnel is about World War II, and the Weeping Demon is about World War III. This makes that argument that warfare is Man's ultimate (and unnatural) way of making war against nature. This is why the company dog in The Tunnel behaves the way it does, because it sees the threat Mankind may ultimately pose to nature itself in a way the officer's dead soldiers cannot or will not.
I think this should be the order:
1) Sunshine Through the Rain 2) The Peach Orchard 3) The Blizzard 4) The Tunnel 5) *Mount Fuji in Red (could also be deleted altogether) 6) The Weeping Demon 7) *Crows (move this episode down two notches) 8) Village of the Watermills
Moving Mount Fuji and Weeping Demon ahead of Crows fulfills several things:
a) Simple cinematic effectiveness:
With The Tunnel the film gets gradually darker, more like nightmares than dreams. The Tunnel has an ominous ending with the barking dog. The stories that immediately following The Tunnel should explore the darker end of things rather than being followed by a lighter story like Crows, which is a mistake for dramatic reasons.
b) This also makes the film's point clearer:
The first two stories feature a young boy. As a child we have a much more innocent relationship to nature. A child might wish to penetrate nature's secrets, but does so innocently. The boy merely wanted to watch the fox wedding. He was caught looking, but meant no real harm. Even so, the boy is rejected by his mother and he is sent on a quest to seek forgiveness from the foxes. A recurring theme in this film is that interfering with nature can have serious consequences. The boy in The Peach Orchard is too young to do anything about the trees being cut down. He simply loves peaches and trees in bloom. At the end the boy realizes how terrible the consequences can be if Man acts against nature.
The following four stories #3-#6 show a fully grown adult (presumably the boy grown up?). In the Blizzard, he is struggling against nature, which he sees as threatening and hostile to him, unlike the boy's less confrontational feelings towards it. An interesting thing in The Blizzard is the ambiguity of the Snow Spirit woman. Is she trying to help the mountain climber or kill him? It is left deliberately obscure. I interpret this to mean that the forces of nature, while very beautiful, can also be deadly. We should show nature the proper respect. Next in The Tunnel, the subject is the ultimate destructive act of Mankind, war. The man claims to have sympathy for his dead troops, which they meekly accept and go back to the grave. However, the company dog is not so easy to fool. It is an animal and does not accept the rationalizations that his men do for being sent to their deaths. The dog is depicted almost as a Hell Hound on the his trail.
This is why Crows MUST NOT following The Tunnel. The Tunnel should have set up the next two stories featuring the fully grown adult. These take the idea of being at war with nature to the most hellish extreme. The dog in the Tunnel acts as an omen and a harbinger of doom which we seen in the nightmares of Mount Fuji and The Weeping Demon. The Weeping Demon is nothing less than a vision of hell on earth. Finally, the last two stories feature an older man (Van Gogh and the village elder respectively) who impart the wisdom of old age to a younger man. These men are totally in harmony with their natural surroundings. Crows plays better if it isn't sandwiched between The Tunnel and Mount Fuji and Weeping Demon. It comes across as irrelevant and lightweight in its present position in the film. FIX IT YOURSELF! Repositioning it makes it seem more effective, even if this doesn't fully address the films other weaknesses.
The village elder in the final episode has the innocence of a second childhood, tempered with a whole lifetime of experience. This is why Crows and Village of the Windmills should be paired together as the last two stories. We have gone from youthful daydreams, to the nightmares of the adult world, into a second rebirth of innocence. The Village of the Windmills is not so much a real place but rather a kind of "Heaven on Earth", the mirror opposite of the Weeping Demon's hell on earth. The Village "has no name", just like in the U2 song "Where the Streets Have No Name", which of course refers to Heaven. I think is a clue that this village is not of this world but rather the next. It is a perhaps impossible dream of total harmony with nature that Mankind can aspire to, though it may be unachievable in this world. If you look at the meaning of Village of the Windmills in this way, the ending is incredibly melancholy, as is the music on the soundtrack.
Perhaps the "dreams" referred to in this film aren't necessarily dreams Kurosawa had while he was sleeping, but his waking dreams and nightmares about Man's relationship with nature. Mount Fuji in Red is the least effective sequence precisely because it is too literal, coming across as even more preachy and didactic than the rest of the film. It feels like something out of a Godzilla movie or an Irwin Allen disaster picture. If we eliminate Mount Fuji, then one story about war follows another. The Tunnel is about World War II, and the Weeping Demon is about World War III. This makes that argument that warfare is Man's ultimate (and unnatural) way of making war against nature. This is why the company dog in The Tunnel behaves the way it does, because it sees the threat Mankind may ultimately pose to nature itself in a way the officer's dead soldiers cannot or will not.
A personal film from Japan's greatest director
PureCinema26 December 1998
Dreams is not a movie for everybody. To some, it may be too artsy of a film for their tastes (what are you doing watching movies then?), others may be annoyed by some of the stories not having clear messages, or leaving questions unanswered. Well, that is because Dreams is a film that was born inside of Kurosawa, and lives inside of him, it's a very personal film that not everybody will appreciate.
The movie consists of eight short stories. Most of which center around the issue of people's relationships with other elements that make up this world that we live in.
The cinematography in Dreams is breathtaking, and is the reason why some people claim that it is a film that puts "Style" above "story". I think that nobody can truly completely understand this film but Kurosawa himself. It is a product of his mind, a film that we cannot fully comprehend since we are not him. But since film is a form of art and in its truest form, a reflection of one's own self, Dreams may have just been one of Kurosawa's personal favorites in his long, amazing career.
The movie consists of eight short stories. Most of which center around the issue of people's relationships with other elements that make up this world that we live in.
The cinematography in Dreams is breathtaking, and is the reason why some people claim that it is a film that puts "Style" above "story". I think that nobody can truly completely understand this film but Kurosawa himself. It is a product of his mind, a film that we cannot fully comprehend since we are not him. But since film is a form of art and in its truest form, a reflection of one's own self, Dreams may have just been one of Kurosawa's personal favorites in his long, amazing career.
Disappointing for me, but not a bad film
TheLittleSongbird21 June 2012
Just for the record I love Akira Kurasawa and his movies, Seven Samurai and Ran being my favourites of his. Dreams was a film I didn't like very much at first but did admire it for how beautifully filmed it was. Watching it again, I do like it much more. Although it is one of my least favourite Kurasawas and still disappointing for me, it is not a bad film. A couple of the vignettes are rather self-indulgent and muddled in the messaging, some of the more political parts could be seen as somewhat naive and the pacing is uneven, perfect at times but drags too much in others. However, again like with all Kurasawa's work it looks absolutely gorgeous especially in the Crows vignette, full of beautifully composed cinematography and colourful imagery. Kurasawa's direction shows what a versatile director he was, often genteel and poignant here. The music compliments each vignette very well, the haunting tune of the concluding Village of the Watermills vignette fared the most effective. The environmentalism is appropriately heartfelt, and Martin Scorsese is excellent as Van Gogh. Overall, not one of Kurasawa's very best for me but after hearing not so good things about it I am glad I gave it a second chance as it is not for everyone, but I found it much better second time around. If anything Dreams is decent, it is just that it falls short of the greatness of the likes of Seven Samurai, Ran, Yojimbo, Ikiru and Hidden Fortress. 7/10 Bethany Cox
One of the best spins on the evolution of man since 2001: A Space Odyssey
rooprect16 September 2020
"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.
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.
Interesting, but not truly a masterpiece
tomimt3 June 2008
Warning: Spoilers
When you see dreams they often seem to be very logical. Everything that happens to you or the characters you follow seem to have some kind of a logic, but when you wake up the images that are left to linger in the back of your mind begin to turn rather obscure and the logic of the story begins to shatter as you try to tell what exactly was the tale you just saw. And that seems to be the basis for Akira Kurosawa's "Dreams".
Dreams is a film compiled from several segments, that have seemingly no relation to each other. There's a story of a boy, who spies upon a wedding ceremony of the foxes, who get angry and demand retribution. In one tale we see apocalyptic vision of one future, in which people have mutated into trolls, whom scream out their pain. We also see a painter, who travels inside the works of Vincent Van Gogh and in the end we see a story, that ponders if we truly need the advancements of technology in order to be content with our lives.
So basically what "Dreams" is all about is the dreams, fears, hopes and behaviour of humans. It warns us to not to rely on machinery that much. It tells us to dream, as dreams are powerful and it tells that hopes might come true, if you truly want them to.
Dreams is not easy film to watch, as it is rather fragmented in narration, nor is it truly a masterpiece, but it is an interesting and cleverly told musing about the society we live in.
Dreams is a film compiled from several segments, that have seemingly no relation to each other. There's a story of a boy, who spies upon a wedding ceremony of the foxes, who get angry and demand retribution. In one tale we see apocalyptic vision of one future, in which people have mutated into trolls, whom scream out their pain. We also see a painter, who travels inside the works of Vincent Van Gogh and in the end we see a story, that ponders if we truly need the advancements of technology in order to be content with our lives.
So basically what "Dreams" is all about is the dreams, fears, hopes and behaviour of humans. It warns us to not to rely on machinery that much. It tells us to dream, as dreams are powerful and it tells that hopes might come true, if you truly want them to.
Dreams is not easy film to watch, as it is rather fragmented in narration, nor is it truly a masterpiece, but it is an interesting and cleverly told musing about the society we live in.
Give Me A Break
ebossert7 September 2006
Akira Kurosawa directs this overrated drama whose pretentiousness is almost unmatched (perhaps only "Irreversible" trumps it). The vast majority of this film relentlessly wastes the viewer's time and patience by showing characters walking around aimlessly. One cannot possibly imagine a greater waste of running time than watching a generic character trotting ever so slowly for minutes on end while encountering absolutely nothing of importance or interest. Of course, if one wants recognition and prestigious awards from the art house crowd (as well as a high rating on IMDb), this is the formula for success.
Here's a summary of each dream.
Dream 1 – a kid encounters a group of people who act like animals; the kid walks, the animal people walk – very very slowly.
Dream 2 – a kid encounters a group of people who act like flowers; the kid walks, the flower people dance – very very slowly.
Dream 3 – a group of guys walk around in a snowstorm – very very slowly.
Dream 4 – some guy walks down a tunnel – very very slowly, then tries to explain death to a group of really stupid dead people.
Dream 5 – some guy has a completely meaningless conversation with Van Gogh, then briskly walks around inside various paintings.
Dream 6 – nuclear reactors explode, people die, and the chapter ends with an absolute moron trying to defend himself against radioactivity by waving his coat in the air.
Dream 7 – some guy walks around aimlessly in the fog, then meets a bunch of nutty mutant dudes who contribute a "mourning" ceremony that is perhaps the cheesiest, most poorly acted scene in motion picture history.
Dream 8 – a watermill scene with some decent conversations about nature and science.
Every dream repeats the same formula: add 14 minutes of useless filler to 30 seconds of actual content. This is the exact opposite of high-quality film-making. It's sanctimonious, pretentious, self-righteous trash.
The unpopular view is that Akira Kurosawa is an overrated director who was never really liked in his home country in the first place, and that it took a group of pretentious, art-house snobs from America to artificially inflate his "greatness" to the rest of the world. After seeing 30 of his films, I'm beginning to agree with this sentiment.
Here's a summary of each dream.
Dream 1 – a kid encounters a group of people who act like animals; the kid walks, the animal people walk – very very slowly.
Dream 2 – a kid encounters a group of people who act like flowers; the kid walks, the flower people dance – very very slowly.
Dream 3 – a group of guys walk around in a snowstorm – very very slowly.
Dream 4 – some guy walks down a tunnel – very very slowly, then tries to explain death to a group of really stupid dead people.
Dream 5 – some guy has a completely meaningless conversation with Van Gogh, then briskly walks around inside various paintings.
Dream 6 – nuclear reactors explode, people die, and the chapter ends with an absolute moron trying to defend himself against radioactivity by waving his coat in the air.
Dream 7 – some guy walks around aimlessly in the fog, then meets a bunch of nutty mutant dudes who contribute a "mourning" ceremony that is perhaps the cheesiest, most poorly acted scene in motion picture history.
Dream 8 – a watermill scene with some decent conversations about nature and science.
Every dream repeats the same formula: add 14 minutes of useless filler to 30 seconds of actual content. This is the exact opposite of high-quality film-making. It's sanctimonious, pretentious, self-righteous trash.
The unpopular view is that Akira Kurosawa is an overrated director who was never really liked in his home country in the first place, and that it took a group of pretentious, art-house snobs from America to artificially inflate his "greatness" to the rest of the world. After seeing 30 of his films, I'm beginning to agree with this sentiment.
it's a film worth contemplating...
evert17_up31 January 2005
More than Just a Dream By Cris Evert Berdin Lato
A series of subconscious peregrinations is not new to the world of cinema. The list is endless when talking about movie plots occurring in dreams. Too often, viewers become so engrossed and thrilled only to find out in the end that “it was all but a dream”. Yet, Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams (Yume) was more of diverting the normal-dream-occurrence-escapade into something worth analyzing and comprehending. It was more of the cinematography rather than the dialog, though there were a number of striking lines worth pondering. Cinematography speaks for the movie itself.
Dreams have woven together the stories of people from different generations. The first two stories Sunshine through the Rain and the Peach Orchard focuses on the little boy (though the 2nd story is not a sequel of the first)—directly telling viewers about childhood. Kurosawa interprets childhood as a period of uncertainty, where one is bound to obedience and is often overcome by innocence and free will.
For those who are not open-minded, Sunshine through the Rain may seem like a showcase of lopsidedness (the mother actually putting more weight on beliefs rather than protecting her own child). The power that culture carries is almost always unstoppable.
The obvious choreography of the foxes was both entertaining and interesting. Entertaining because they look like “out of this world beings” who can’t do anything to straighten their lives. Amazing and interesting because such organization is peculiar for creatures like them.
Peach Orchard on the other hand, tells us about child’s innocence. How hard the boy explained to the imperial spirits that he tried to stop destruction. The story was also about metamorphosis—how a simple and ordinary scenario can turn into something spectacular and extraordinary. Likewise, it tells us about man’s destructive nature and how such abusive act brought so much suffering to the boy. Yes, childhood of uncertainty but this period is also the moment when values are shaped, stain-free, pure and untouched.
For the first two stories, Kurosawa magnificently presented childhood, a stage where thoughts are initially shaped, learnings are taught bit by bit and values are molded.
The next two (The Blizzard and the Tunnel) tackled Kurosawa’s struggle with the self, when an individual seeks his individuality. But such searching happens tumultuously.
When all else fails, one has the tendency to give up and let things be. And just when things get all the worse, you suddenly find the strength to survive.
The Blizzard’s atmosphere was good but I find the scene where the other mountain climbers got up after the storm absurd. Yet I commend the climber who never gave up to his frozen exhaustion.
The most effective story was The Tunnel. Astonishingly, Kurosawa has shown that memories of the past could never be hidden even though it may appear to be forgotten. The Tunnel expresses feelings, memories in retrospect. One cannot be ostentatious—pretending to know nothing or as if nothing happened. “Time cannot ease the pain of old wounds, instead the scars it leaves continues to be seen and serves as a reminder of what has transcribed.”
But I was totally dumbfounded when the dead soldiers obeyed their superior. It was both heartwarming and nerve-breaking.
A major shift happened on the fifth segment Crows. For the previous two movies, the atmosphere has been hazy, cold depicting emotional struggles. With Crows, it was finding one self in solitude, learning from experienced people. Virtually stimulating, Crows invites viewers to get to know Van Gogh’s paintings, as the young Japanese artist likewise “invaded” the world of Van Gogh’s paintings.
As one travels through the sands of time, one also discovers his true self.
As the film moves on, Kurosawa evidently led viewers to a more mature stage. After childhood (Sunshine through the Rain and Peach Orchard), adolescence towards the path of seeking our individuality, to a peaceful self-realization (Crows. Towards the end of the film, Kurosawa introduced man’s role to society. That after finding one’s self, an individual can now relate himself to the society.
Mount Fiji in Red, the Weeping Demon, and the Village of Watermills were all environmentally inclined. It appears succinct that environment is important; yet if one takes more plodding work, one realizes that merely saying how important environment is is truly different from experiencing that importance. As a metascience fiction of visualization of the end of the world, it awakens feelings of guilt and fear.
“Flowers are crippled,” is a very striking statement in The Weeping Demon. It tells viewers how environmental pollution can destroy everything. Among the eight films, I found the title of this segment ironical but appropriate. I’ve never heard of a demon weeping since all I can reckon is a laughing and chuckling one.
Village of the Watermills significantly features a Utopian place, a place where man blends harmoniously with the environment.
Actors of Dreams portrayed roles well although for some segment I found certain dialogues inappropriate and some actors needed more practice. But as a whole Dreams was a movie which invites viewers to dig deeper, to fathom the real meaning of each dream, understanding them both with the mind and the heart. Dreams, a movie which allows viewers to think and analyze more. In the end, all the efforts were rewarded.
A series of subconscious peregrinations is not new to the world of cinema. The list is endless when talking about movie plots occurring in dreams. Too often, viewers become so engrossed and thrilled only to find out in the end that “it was all but a dream”. Yet, Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams (Yume) was more of diverting the normal-dream-occurrence-escapade into something worth analyzing and comprehending. It was more of the cinematography rather than the dialog, though there were a number of striking lines worth pondering. Cinematography speaks for the movie itself.
Dreams have woven together the stories of people from different generations. The first two stories Sunshine through the Rain and the Peach Orchard focuses on the little boy (though the 2nd story is not a sequel of the first)—directly telling viewers about childhood. Kurosawa interprets childhood as a period of uncertainty, where one is bound to obedience and is often overcome by innocence and free will.
For those who are not open-minded, Sunshine through the Rain may seem like a showcase of lopsidedness (the mother actually putting more weight on beliefs rather than protecting her own child). The power that culture carries is almost always unstoppable.
The obvious choreography of the foxes was both entertaining and interesting. Entertaining because they look like “out of this world beings” who can’t do anything to straighten their lives. Amazing and interesting because such organization is peculiar for creatures like them.
Peach Orchard on the other hand, tells us about child’s innocence. How hard the boy explained to the imperial spirits that he tried to stop destruction. The story was also about metamorphosis—how a simple and ordinary scenario can turn into something spectacular and extraordinary. Likewise, it tells us about man’s destructive nature and how such abusive act brought so much suffering to the boy. Yes, childhood of uncertainty but this period is also the moment when values are shaped, stain-free, pure and untouched.
For the first two stories, Kurosawa magnificently presented childhood, a stage where thoughts are initially shaped, learnings are taught bit by bit and values are molded.
The next two (The Blizzard and the Tunnel) tackled Kurosawa’s struggle with the self, when an individual seeks his individuality. But such searching happens tumultuously.
When all else fails, one has the tendency to give up and let things be. And just when things get all the worse, you suddenly find the strength to survive.
The Blizzard’s atmosphere was good but I find the scene where the other mountain climbers got up after the storm absurd. Yet I commend the climber who never gave up to his frozen exhaustion.
The most effective story was The Tunnel. Astonishingly, Kurosawa has shown that memories of the past could never be hidden even though it may appear to be forgotten. The Tunnel expresses feelings, memories in retrospect. One cannot be ostentatious—pretending to know nothing or as if nothing happened. “Time cannot ease the pain of old wounds, instead the scars it leaves continues to be seen and serves as a reminder of what has transcribed.”
But I was totally dumbfounded when the dead soldiers obeyed their superior. It was both heartwarming and nerve-breaking.
A major shift happened on the fifth segment Crows. For the previous two movies, the atmosphere has been hazy, cold depicting emotional struggles. With Crows, it was finding one self in solitude, learning from experienced people. Virtually stimulating, Crows invites viewers to get to know Van Gogh’s paintings, as the young Japanese artist likewise “invaded” the world of Van Gogh’s paintings.
As one travels through the sands of time, one also discovers his true self.
As the film moves on, Kurosawa evidently led viewers to a more mature stage. After childhood (Sunshine through the Rain and Peach Orchard), adolescence towards the path of seeking our individuality, to a peaceful self-realization (Crows. Towards the end of the film, Kurosawa introduced man’s role to society. That after finding one’s self, an individual can now relate himself to the society.
Mount Fiji in Red, the Weeping Demon, and the Village of Watermills were all environmentally inclined. It appears succinct that environment is important; yet if one takes more plodding work, one realizes that merely saying how important environment is is truly different from experiencing that importance. As a metascience fiction of visualization of the end of the world, it awakens feelings of guilt and fear.
“Flowers are crippled,” is a very striking statement in The Weeping Demon. It tells viewers how environmental pollution can destroy everything. Among the eight films, I found the title of this segment ironical but appropriate. I’ve never heard of a demon weeping since all I can reckon is a laughing and chuckling one.
Village of the Watermills significantly features a Utopian place, a place where man blends harmoniously with the environment.
Actors of Dreams portrayed roles well although for some segment I found certain dialogues inappropriate and some actors needed more practice. But as a whole Dreams was a movie which invites viewers to dig deeper, to fathom the real meaning of each dream, understanding them both with the mind and the heart. Dreams, a movie which allows viewers to think and analyze more. In the end, all the efforts were rewarded.
Breathtaking and mesmerizing
henrihadida14 May 2005
It is difficult to categorize Kurosawa movies in any formal sort of way. Similarly to Kubrick Kurosawa is a visionary and a complete artist. No matter what he undertakes he is relentless in his pursuit of perfection and truth of the art of film making. Visually he is the master that everyone should be inspired by. As a story teller, he layers plot and characters in the depths of emotional revelations.
Dreams is an experience in film making. More then a mere moment of film magic it is a work of art to aspire to.
Enjoy the breadth and scope of a vision translated to vibrant imagery. Of all the great directors of our time Kurosawa has yet to be fully recognized by the majority of movie goers. Dreams is a great starting point in the study of the genius of Kurosawa. Do not lose patience and indulge in his captivating world. You will not regret it.
Dreams is an experience in film making. More then a mere moment of film magic it is a work of art to aspire to.
Enjoy the breadth and scope of a vision translated to vibrant imagery. Of all the great directors of our time Kurosawa has yet to be fully recognized by the majority of movie goers. Dreams is a great starting point in the study of the genius of Kurosawa. Do not lose patience and indulge in his captivating world. You will not regret it.
I think people are not getting it,because they don't want to.
veganflimgeek12 June 2004
Warning: Spoilers
Kurasawa's DREAMS
Is there a greater director ever? Few would argue that anyone besides maybe Kubrick comes close. Dreams is the Swan song of Japan's most amazing and artistic director in the most artistic film of his long life. Known for his Samurai films and occasional noir mystery dreams is a departure because it is not a story yet eight pieces of of cinematic expression. There are no Spoilers that could ruin this film because really it is like looking at a painting.
I have read many comments where time after time people comment that this personal film was not meant to be understood by anyone but the director. Please, why would Kurasawa do that at the end of his life. I think Kurasawa had a lot to say at the end and the sad part is that it went over many people's heads.
Well I believe many of the segments are open to interpretation but for anyone who knows that Kurasawa was a socialist, or that he didn't really dig how technology was taking the world. Well there lies your answer. Some of the segments use allegory express Kurasawa's feelings about the destruction of nature around him, the abuse of capitalism, His need for perfectionism and what he endured for it, the spoils of war and much more.
The man was dying and he wanted the world to know just how he felt about it. Amazing film. Beautifully shot. Amazing to look at. I gave it 9 out of 10. It would have been perfect with out Martin S. as Van gogh.
******Spoilers****
The scene in the wasteland with as the demons fighting over that last little pond of polluted water was such a viscous attack on capitalism I find it amusing that more people didn't understand it.
Is there a greater director ever? Few would argue that anyone besides maybe Kubrick comes close. Dreams is the Swan song of Japan's most amazing and artistic director in the most artistic film of his long life. Known for his Samurai films and occasional noir mystery dreams is a departure because it is not a story yet eight pieces of of cinematic expression. There are no Spoilers that could ruin this film because really it is like looking at a painting.
I have read many comments where time after time people comment that this personal film was not meant to be understood by anyone but the director. Please, why would Kurasawa do that at the end of his life. I think Kurasawa had a lot to say at the end and the sad part is that it went over many people's heads.
Well I believe many of the segments are open to interpretation but for anyone who knows that Kurasawa was a socialist, or that he didn't really dig how technology was taking the world. Well there lies your answer. Some of the segments use allegory express Kurasawa's feelings about the destruction of nature around him, the abuse of capitalism, His need for perfectionism and what he endured for it, the spoils of war and much more.
The man was dying and he wanted the world to know just how he felt about it. Amazing film. Beautifully shot. Amazing to look at. I gave it 9 out of 10. It would have been perfect with out Martin S. as Van gogh.
******Spoilers****
The scene in the wasteland with as the demons fighting over that last little pond of polluted water was such a viscous attack on capitalism I find it amusing that more people didn't understand it.
Entirely Underrated. The Best Kurosawa Film I've Ever Seen
zetes31 May 2000
I have been exploring the works of Akira Kurosawa for about 6 months now, and I have seen most of those films which are generally considered masterpieces of film. There wasn't one of his films that I felt surpassed classics like 2001, Citizen Kane, Raging Bull, or The Godfather. The one I had felt was the best was Ran, his adaptation of King Lear. But now I've found one that I believe is among the ranks of the classics of cinema.
And oddly enough, Dreams is not considered a masterpiece. Maltin only gives it ***. I give it a square 10/10. I was skeptical at first. The first three pieces were nice, but I didn't find them extraordinary. The fourth one, "The Tunnel," began to interest me, and about half-way through that one, I realized that putting dreams to film made a lot more sense than I had originally thought. I began to examine them from a psychological point of view. I became obsessed with the first three, diving deeply into them for their meanings, coming up with pearls of wisdom. I think this film affected my unconscious mind more than most films. Only 2001, which works on every level, conscious, subconscious, and unconscious, simultaneously (and it is alone among films in that respect), is similar.
I will not go into any of the plots. One should experience everything in this film with no preconceptions. Besides, no one should on this site; these comments ought to be only about why or why not the commenter liked the film he/she is commenting on. Just rent it, sit down, and let your mind absorb the beautiful images and the half-coherent thoughts expressed. When you fall asleep afterwards, you will certainly have the best dreams you've ever had.
And oddly enough, Dreams is not considered a masterpiece. Maltin only gives it ***. I give it a square 10/10. I was skeptical at first. The first three pieces were nice, but I didn't find them extraordinary. The fourth one, "The Tunnel," began to interest me, and about half-way through that one, I realized that putting dreams to film made a lot more sense than I had originally thought. I began to examine them from a psychological point of view. I became obsessed with the first three, diving deeply into them for their meanings, coming up with pearls of wisdom. I think this film affected my unconscious mind more than most films. Only 2001, which works on every level, conscious, subconscious, and unconscious, simultaneously (and it is alone among films in that respect), is similar.
I will not go into any of the plots. One should experience everything in this film with no preconceptions. Besides, no one should on this site; these comments ought to be only about why or why not the commenter liked the film he/she is commenting on. Just rent it, sit down, and let your mind absorb the beautiful images and the half-coherent thoughts expressed. When you fall asleep afterwards, you will certainly have the best dreams you've ever had.
Dreams as Warnings
Hitchcoc25 August 2009
This film is a bit of an ordeal. One is led through a series of stories that have the qualities of dreams. That is, they teach lessons, thy fly off into surrealism, the characters often can't be controlled. There is a sense of "if I wake up, this will not be true. There are several environmental warnings. Death is nearly always on the borders. This is a wonderful film because each story captivates and pulls the viewer along. There are magnificent colors, fearful images, foxes who have come to kill little boys who do wrong, one of the most incredible funeral processions imaginable. There are things coming out of the fog, appearing on the sides of mountains, coming through tunnels. I am, like most people, nurtured on Kurosawa's samurai films, based on classical themes. This is a collection of wonderful tales, each of which we can interpret ourselves.
Disappointingly Pretentious
imajestr20 December 2007
Don't get me wrong, I love movies that make you think, and I tend not to like the typical Hollywood over-budgeted garbage that's spewed out year after year after year. I've heard this movie praised over and over again, and being a newcomer to Kurosawa's film making, I was looking forward to a strange adventure into this man's mind. Unfortunately, what I found was a segment or two that was great in concept, sometimes beautifully filmed, but overall, surprisingly pretentious and poorly executed.
There are segments that seem to drag on forever without dialogue and others that spew what seems to be propaganda from the mouths of the actors. Personally, I don't mind films with slow pacing, and the segments that dragged, to me, were the more enjoyable than the ones full of propaganda. I'll clarify what I mean by "propaganda." It seems to me that the writing is far too overt. Yes, there are deep and important messages being told to us, but they're not subtle in the least. I felt like I was watching a couple of plays written at the high school level. Most of the characters stand still on screen while they talk, seemingly, directly to the audience about whatever moral or ethical dilemma the segment is addressing.
Still, if you like odd movies and some experimental film making, you should at least give this a rent. Unfortunately, I bought it and am unsatisfied with my purchase, but had I rented it for a couple dollars I would not have felt cheated. It's something to watch once, but the dialogue is painfully unnatural at times and ruins some great concepts with poor writing. It's not a classic, but it's not a complete failure in every aspect either.
There are segments that seem to drag on forever without dialogue and others that spew what seems to be propaganda from the mouths of the actors. Personally, I don't mind films with slow pacing, and the segments that dragged, to me, were the more enjoyable than the ones full of propaganda. I'll clarify what I mean by "propaganda." It seems to me that the writing is far too overt. Yes, there are deep and important messages being told to us, but they're not subtle in the least. I felt like I was watching a couple of plays written at the high school level. Most of the characters stand still on screen while they talk, seemingly, directly to the audience about whatever moral or ethical dilemma the segment is addressing.
Still, if you like odd movies and some experimental film making, you should at least give this a rent. Unfortunately, I bought it and am unsatisfied with my purchase, but had I rented it for a couple dollars I would not have felt cheated. It's something to watch once, but the dialogue is painfully unnatural at times and ruins some great concepts with poor writing. It's not a classic, but it's not a complete failure in every aspect either.
A Flow of Truth
josh-12989 July 2009
Am I of the few who aspire to true optimism that begs the question that this film is for anybody and everybody? Absolutely, and anybody who has come away with something from this film can agree that they obviously believe the same thing. Don't apologize guys because this film deserve all your credit.
Specific to the human experience is the nature of dreams. Something that can inspire us, beg questions of or for us to simply ignore. So futile are the attempts to analyze them fully, one can pull them apart and may be useful for the understanding of ones mind, it works, it does, but sometimes dreams just are. They obviously could be pulled apart and thats interesting, but when you experience a dream, you just react, analysis and embellishment doesn't happen till after.
What's truly beautiful about this film is its truth to how a dream plays, it's truth to its ambiguous dialogue (as in a dream), the truth to the embellished coloring or discoloring (as in a dream), overall its truth to the mood and perpetual questioning that a dream always conveys.
I can't fault it, I love it, It makes you realize your not alone. To see dreams played out in such perfect detail, The snarling dog with the red light, my goodness! The fade in the weeping demon exquisite, the joyous encounter in the peach orchard! I could go on...
The fact remains I'm as cynical as the next man, I try not to be, I don't have to try with this, its perfection in its imperfection, Imperfection in its perfection.
If your looking to watch this, forget any kind of precursor and look at it as yourself, it doesn't need analyzing, you'd be wasting you time, its another mans dreams.... but how familiar is it all?
Specific to the human experience is the nature of dreams. Something that can inspire us, beg questions of or for us to simply ignore. So futile are the attempts to analyze them fully, one can pull them apart and may be useful for the understanding of ones mind, it works, it does, but sometimes dreams just are. They obviously could be pulled apart and thats interesting, but when you experience a dream, you just react, analysis and embellishment doesn't happen till after.
What's truly beautiful about this film is its truth to how a dream plays, it's truth to its ambiguous dialogue (as in a dream), the truth to the embellished coloring or discoloring (as in a dream), overall its truth to the mood and perpetual questioning that a dream always conveys.
I can't fault it, I love it, It makes you realize your not alone. To see dreams played out in such perfect detail, The snarling dog with the red light, my goodness! The fade in the weeping demon exquisite, the joyous encounter in the peach orchard! I could go on...
The fact remains I'm as cynical as the next man, I try not to be, I don't have to try with this, its perfection in its imperfection, Imperfection in its perfection.
If your looking to watch this, forget any kind of precursor and look at it as yourself, it doesn't need analyzing, you'd be wasting you time, its another mans dreams.... but how familiar is it all?
Visually stunning but heavy handed
howard.schumann25 December 2006
Dreams, one of the last films of acclaimed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, is a visually stunning but often heavy handed collection of eight episodes loosely woven around the theme of man's disrespect for the environment and his warlike nature. The tales are mostly highly structured and linear, having little in common with actual dreams which are often confusing, disjointed, illogical, and highly symbolic. The first two dreams are the most successful because they teach by implication not by speeches.
In the first segment, "Sunshine Through the Rain", the protagonist is a little boy, only identified as "I" (Akira Terao). The boy sees a wedding of foxes dressed in kabuki-like outfits in the forest, an event forbidden for a human to observe. On returning home, his mother bars the door and gives the boy a knife to kill himself or otherwise ask the foxes to forgive his transgressions. The boy walks in the woods looking for the fox's lair and discovers a beautiful rainbow in a big orchard. Filmed with bright colors, Kurosawa seems to be saying that man must understand his limitations when it comes to nature or suffer long term consequences.
The second episode called "The Peach Orchard" laments man's destruction of the natural world. An older boy is distraught when spirits blame him somewhat illogically for the destruction of trees in a peach orchard. They discover, however, that the boy is also sad about the loss of the trees and they perform a ritual dance that allows him one last vision of the peach trees in all their natural wonder. This episode may reference the Japanese belief that guilt and shame are passed from generation to generation.
"The Blizzard" is a slow-paced but haunting segment that deals with a group of four mountain climbers who are near death after becoming lost in a blizzard. Covered in snow and running out of the desire to continue, they encounter a mysterious snow spirit known in Japanese myth as a "yuki-onna" (no, not Yoko Ono) who, despite I's struggle to escape her grasp, helps the men to locate their destination. Other segments include "The Tunnel", a strong anti-war tale about a returning soldier who, in the mouth of a tunnel, encounters the ghosts of a dead platoon he led into battle. The episode makes its point but goes on too long until its message becomes preachy. "Crows" is a gorgeously surreal segment in which an artist visits a museum and enters Van Gogh's paintings, even encountering Van Gogh himself, played by Martin Scorsese.
Though their message is a good one, the final three segments, "Mount Fuji in Red", "The Weeping Demon" and "Village of the Watermills" are among the weakest. "Mount Fuji in Red" deals with the aftermath of World War III as people are driven to a beach near an erupting Mount Fuji to escape the radiation. In "The Weeping Demon" the world experiences transformation after the war and radiation has created a species of demons that roam the earth and threaten the few remaining humans. In the last dream, "I" finds himself in an idyllic village where men live simply and in harmony with the earth. The images have a strong impact but the conversation soon becomes tedious.
In the first segment, "Sunshine Through the Rain", the protagonist is a little boy, only identified as "I" (Akira Terao). The boy sees a wedding of foxes dressed in kabuki-like outfits in the forest, an event forbidden for a human to observe. On returning home, his mother bars the door and gives the boy a knife to kill himself or otherwise ask the foxes to forgive his transgressions. The boy walks in the woods looking for the fox's lair and discovers a beautiful rainbow in a big orchard. Filmed with bright colors, Kurosawa seems to be saying that man must understand his limitations when it comes to nature or suffer long term consequences.
The second episode called "The Peach Orchard" laments man's destruction of the natural world. An older boy is distraught when spirits blame him somewhat illogically for the destruction of trees in a peach orchard. They discover, however, that the boy is also sad about the loss of the trees and they perform a ritual dance that allows him one last vision of the peach trees in all their natural wonder. This episode may reference the Japanese belief that guilt and shame are passed from generation to generation.
"The Blizzard" is a slow-paced but haunting segment that deals with a group of four mountain climbers who are near death after becoming lost in a blizzard. Covered in snow and running out of the desire to continue, they encounter a mysterious snow spirit known in Japanese myth as a "yuki-onna" (no, not Yoko Ono) who, despite I's struggle to escape her grasp, helps the men to locate their destination. Other segments include "The Tunnel", a strong anti-war tale about a returning soldier who, in the mouth of a tunnel, encounters the ghosts of a dead platoon he led into battle. The episode makes its point but goes on too long until its message becomes preachy. "Crows" is a gorgeously surreal segment in which an artist visits a museum and enters Van Gogh's paintings, even encountering Van Gogh himself, played by Martin Scorsese.
Though their message is a good one, the final three segments, "Mount Fuji in Red", "The Weeping Demon" and "Village of the Watermills" are among the weakest. "Mount Fuji in Red" deals with the aftermath of World War III as people are driven to a beach near an erupting Mount Fuji to escape the radiation. In "The Weeping Demon" the world experiences transformation after the war and radiation has created a species of demons that roam the earth and threaten the few remaining humans. In the last dream, "I" finds himself in an idyllic village where men live simply and in harmony with the earth. The images have a strong impact but the conversation soon becomes tedious.
A Solace For One's Sensory Sanity
jzappa22 September 2008
When Kurosawa made this collection of dreams that he claimed to have experienced, he had made films with tremendous influence on cinema for 45 years. He had earned the privilege to indulge himself a bit. Interpreted in totality, they adopt an abstractly natural composition and add up. More to the point, even interpreted on each's own merits they're exceedingly more stimulating.
The first two dreams are seclusively Japanese but suggest Kurosawa's passionate concern for the environment. The images are invigorating: pastures of emerging flowers, and elegant processions and dances that, I must admit, seem too poised and rigid for a dream. The next two are in immediate distinction from the preceding flamboyance, creating the feeling of a story's turning point, just like a continuous feature film. They are dismal, austere contemplations of mortality and war. Mountaineers fight up a mountain during a blizzard, discouraged, eager to surrender. One at a time they submit to the snow. The leader persists, but he too yields. A mythological woman materializes enticing them to their demise. Though the ending of this is actually kind of funny, the next segment, possibly the very strongest, is heartrending:
An army officer treks a deserted road at twilight, on his way home from war. He comes to a pitch black tunnel. A furious dog emerges from the darkness and snarls and barks at him with a surreal sound of deep viciousness. He proceeds frightened and comes out the other side, but then beholds one of the soldiers over whom he had charge following him out, his face a light blue, suggesting with traditional Japanese theatricality that he is dead. The soldier doesn't believe he's dead, but the officer assures him and the soldier returns into the darkness of the tunnel, the entire platoon emerging out of the tunnel, all dead. He tries to convince them, and squeezes out his deep-rooted guilty conscience about leading them all to die. They stand silent and display a heartbreaking demonstration of undying loyalty. What I find to be the most beautiful and perceptive touch in this dream is that we see a second appearance of the dog, from the opening of this dream. When we see that it is strapped with explosives and all, we understand that it was an anti-tank dog that died with the rest of the platoon. Kurosawa understands the animal element of nature, the betrayal suffered by the enduring devotion of a dog.
Kurosawa then shifts back into elatedness with a luminous vignette where Martin Scorsese plays Van Gogh, who is without his ear and near his death. A student, presumably a grown Kurosawa, enters the vivid, effervescent and at times hectic world in the bounds of Van Gogh's artwork, where he meets the painter in a meadow. The student loses track of him and traverses through numerous paintings endeavoring to find him, scored to an infectious Chopin prelude. This is the most imaginary of the dreams, Van Gogh expressing some artistic outlook undoubtedly shared by Kurosawa, who steals us back to the shadows with inescapable nightmares of nuclear desolation. A nuclear plant melts down. Five people remain, realizing radiation will kill them. Next, a man finds wanders a foggy mountainous terrain and meets a mutated human with a horn who explains that there was a nuclear holocaust which eradicated nature and animals. These segments are more in character as essential Kurosawa and again in blunt disparity to the previous.
Then, following the warnings of impending catastrophe that clue one into Kurosawa's familiarity with the hero of I Live In Fear, the final dream leaves a tone of serenity, parting with the dream, if you will, of peace of mind if we could but accept the undemanding natural simplicities of life. A man finds an undisturbed village and meets an old man who tells that the village has long abandoned the control of technology and have chosen spiritual health over convenience. It is an apt and gratifying finale to a meditative film of overwhelming visual loveliness and vision.
Dreams certainly has a story structure, the transcendent magnificence that requires a look beyond its appearance is that these numerous segments are just what they are, fragmentary vignettes underscoring visual majesty and a mind's eye above traditional sequence.
Dreams may well appear self-indulgent to several, and does have a tendency to crawl at some point in each of the happy dreams. Nevertheless, it's a solace to one's sensory sanity, not necessarily to be seen the same way as most films. The way some find old black and whites to be comforting, taking them with their eyes half closed into a dreamy bygone universe, Dreams was initially intended for such an experience, from a filmmaker who for 45 years had proved time and time again his understanding the quintessence of the nature and purpose of cinema, and who later learned to reject criticism and make the films that he knew in his heart had to be made.
The first two dreams are seclusively Japanese but suggest Kurosawa's passionate concern for the environment. The images are invigorating: pastures of emerging flowers, and elegant processions and dances that, I must admit, seem too poised and rigid for a dream. The next two are in immediate distinction from the preceding flamboyance, creating the feeling of a story's turning point, just like a continuous feature film. They are dismal, austere contemplations of mortality and war. Mountaineers fight up a mountain during a blizzard, discouraged, eager to surrender. One at a time they submit to the snow. The leader persists, but he too yields. A mythological woman materializes enticing them to their demise. Though the ending of this is actually kind of funny, the next segment, possibly the very strongest, is heartrending:
An army officer treks a deserted road at twilight, on his way home from war. He comes to a pitch black tunnel. A furious dog emerges from the darkness and snarls and barks at him with a surreal sound of deep viciousness. He proceeds frightened and comes out the other side, but then beholds one of the soldiers over whom he had charge following him out, his face a light blue, suggesting with traditional Japanese theatricality that he is dead. The soldier doesn't believe he's dead, but the officer assures him and the soldier returns into the darkness of the tunnel, the entire platoon emerging out of the tunnel, all dead. He tries to convince them, and squeezes out his deep-rooted guilty conscience about leading them all to die. They stand silent and display a heartbreaking demonstration of undying loyalty. What I find to be the most beautiful and perceptive touch in this dream is that we see a second appearance of the dog, from the opening of this dream. When we see that it is strapped with explosives and all, we understand that it was an anti-tank dog that died with the rest of the platoon. Kurosawa understands the animal element of nature, the betrayal suffered by the enduring devotion of a dog.
Kurosawa then shifts back into elatedness with a luminous vignette where Martin Scorsese plays Van Gogh, who is without his ear and near his death. A student, presumably a grown Kurosawa, enters the vivid, effervescent and at times hectic world in the bounds of Van Gogh's artwork, where he meets the painter in a meadow. The student loses track of him and traverses through numerous paintings endeavoring to find him, scored to an infectious Chopin prelude. This is the most imaginary of the dreams, Van Gogh expressing some artistic outlook undoubtedly shared by Kurosawa, who steals us back to the shadows with inescapable nightmares of nuclear desolation. A nuclear plant melts down. Five people remain, realizing radiation will kill them. Next, a man finds wanders a foggy mountainous terrain and meets a mutated human with a horn who explains that there was a nuclear holocaust which eradicated nature and animals. These segments are more in character as essential Kurosawa and again in blunt disparity to the previous.
Then, following the warnings of impending catastrophe that clue one into Kurosawa's familiarity with the hero of I Live In Fear, the final dream leaves a tone of serenity, parting with the dream, if you will, of peace of mind if we could but accept the undemanding natural simplicities of life. A man finds an undisturbed village and meets an old man who tells that the village has long abandoned the control of technology and have chosen spiritual health over convenience. It is an apt and gratifying finale to a meditative film of overwhelming visual loveliness and vision.
Dreams certainly has a story structure, the transcendent magnificence that requires a look beyond its appearance is that these numerous segments are just what they are, fragmentary vignettes underscoring visual majesty and a mind's eye above traditional sequence.
Dreams may well appear self-indulgent to several, and does have a tendency to crawl at some point in each of the happy dreams. Nevertheless, it's a solace to one's sensory sanity, not necessarily to be seen the same way as most films. The way some find old black and whites to be comforting, taking them with their eyes half closed into a dreamy bygone universe, Dreams was initially intended for such an experience, from a filmmaker who for 45 years had proved time and time again his understanding the quintessence of the nature and purpose of cinema, and who later learned to reject criticism and make the films that he knew in his heart had to be made.
an odd little film indeed!
planktonrules1 July 2005
I would have to say that of the Kurasawa films I have seen, this is nearly my least favorite (just ahead of Sanjuro Sugata parts 1 and 2). This is not to say it is a bad movie or it is poorly made--it's just very strange in spots and is a random collection of Akira Kurasawa's dreams stuck on the big screen. Some are not all that interesting and others are more nightmarish and captivating (such as his apocalyptic dream). It is a definite must for people like me who want to see every film he made, but for the casual viewer, it will probably just make your head hurt or make you dismiss his films in general---which would be a great shame, as he is, perhaps, my favorite director of all. Try to look at this an an experimental art film that he chose to do because, given his years and many great accomplishments, he had a right to try something different. Also, if you give it a try, several of the dreams are quite well-done and will impress (such as the Vincent Van Gogh segment starring, of all people, Martin Scorsese!).
Beautiful but not absorbing
Paul P19 August 1999
First, I want to acknowledge that Dreams is one of the most beautifully filmed movies I've ever seen. It also contains several very haunting visual images, including the woman in "The Blizzard" and the soldiers in "The Tunnel."
That having been said, the pace of the movie is awfully ponderous for my tastes. Shots that need last just a few seconds go on, literally, for minutes. While this does give the viewer a chance to drink in the imagery, I think it tends to undercut the theme of the movie. I remember my own dreams as fleeting glimpses of another world. But these "Dreams" seem like never-ending clinical stares. For me, the movie would have been just as effective if it was an hour shorter.
Next, it was irritating that several of the dreams, such as the first one, started to tell stories and then abruptly stopped. I felt teased. Either tell a story or don't.
The movie is further weakened by the fact that the worst segments come near the end. The political theme that these attempt to develop is not particularly original. And the explicit message is not particularly characteristic of the mystery and enigma I associate with dreams.
Before you dismiss me as uncultured, I do like many experimental and art-house flicks. I just feel that this one has little to recommend it other than the visual style.
That having been said, the pace of the movie is awfully ponderous for my tastes. Shots that need last just a few seconds go on, literally, for minutes. While this does give the viewer a chance to drink in the imagery, I think it tends to undercut the theme of the movie. I remember my own dreams as fleeting glimpses of another world. But these "Dreams" seem like never-ending clinical stares. For me, the movie would have been just as effective if it was an hour shorter.
Next, it was irritating that several of the dreams, such as the first one, started to tell stories and then abruptly stopped. I felt teased. Either tell a story or don't.
The movie is further weakened by the fact that the worst segments come near the end. The political theme that these attempt to develop is not particularly original. And the explicit message is not particularly characteristic of the mystery and enigma I associate with dreams.
Before you dismiss me as uncultured, I do like many experimental and art-house flicks. I just feel that this one has little to recommend it other than the visual style.
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