262 - Dreams, 1990, Japan. Dir. Akira Kurosawa.

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

262 - Dreams, 1990, Japan.  Dir. Akira Kurosawa.

What do Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Industrial Light and Magic, Dolby, and Warner Bros. have to do with Akira Kurosawa?

They helped make this movie.

The master, who had been breathtakingly prolific from 1936 to 1965, had found it increasingly difficult to procure financing and had made four films in the past twenty years.

So when Spielberg and Lucas got Warner to commit to international distribution, he was back in business, and he made three more films in quick succession before passing away in 1998.

Lucas had ILM contribute special effects; Dolby provided digital noise reduction; and Scorsese performed in it.

Kurosawa is 80 now, and his work is more reflective, meditative, and personal.

It is also explosive with vibrant color.  Beautiful, lavish, rich, lush, vital color.

The man who had given the world some of the finest black-and-white cinematographic images over the years is now demonstrating his mastery in chromatic hues.

He also exhibits his virtuosity of composition and camera work.  He revels in wide shots, perspective, foreshortening, long lenses, and masterful tilts and pans.

We will not see samurai, and we will not encounter Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, or Tatsuya Nakadai--members of Kurosawa's lifelong company of stars.

Rather we will see three actors, a child, a boy, and a man, each portraying the character of I.

And we will see contrasts between traditional and modern, nature and urban, death and striving for survival.

The film is a collection of eight (8) short stories ostensibly taken from Kurosawa's dreams.  Each one is self-contained, and each features a boy or man who might represent a fictionalized Kurosawa.

This is a different kind of Kurosawa film.  It induces one to want more--and wish that he had been able to continue his abundant output in the latter quarter of his life.

It is the third film in the last four that we have reviewed--from Italy, Italy, and now from Japan--which provides the viewer with a sumptuous visual feast.

In one of the episodes, "Crows," I, an aspiring artist, visits an art museum and observes Van Gogh paintings.  Then he enters them Gumby-like in a search for the painter.  He finds him and talks to him.

Look for Martin Scorsese playing Vincent Van Gogh.

Enjoy.