Dreams (film) 247709 223486319 2008-07-04T07:53:21Z 66.82.9.81 {{For|the film by [[Ingmar Bergman]]|Dreams (1955 film)}} {{Infobox Film | name = Dreams | image = Kurosawasdreams.jpg | | caption = | director = [[Akira Kurosawa]] | producer = | writer = Akira Kurosawa | starring = [[Akira Terao]]<br>[[Martin Scorsese]]<br>[[Mitsunori Isaki]]<br>[[Chishu Ryu]]<br>[[Mieko Harada]] | music = [[Shinichirô Ikebe]] | cinematography = [[Takao Saito (cinematographer)|Takao Saito]]<br>[[Masaharu Ueda]] | editing = [[Akira Kurosawa]] | distributor = [[Warner Bros.]] | released = [[May 11]], [[1990]] | runtime = 119 min | language = [[Japanese Language|Japanese]]<br>[[French language|French]]<br>[[English language|English]] | budget = | country = [[Japan]]<br>[[United States of America|USA]] | preceded_by = | followed_by = | amg_id = 1:1320 | imdb_id = 0100998 }} {{nihongo|'''''Dreams'''''|[[wikt:夢|夢]]|'''''Yume'''''|aka '''''Akira Kurosawa's Dreams''''', '''''I Saw a Dream Like This''''', '''''Konna yume wo mita''''' or '''''Such Dreams I Have Dreamed'''''}} is a 1990 [[portmanteau and magical realism film]] based on actual [[dream]]s of the film's director, [[Akira Kurosawa]] at different stages of his life. The film is based more on imagery than on [[dialogue]]. ==Dreams== The film consists of several dreams based on Kurosawa's own, throughout his life. The dreams are eight separate segments in the following order: ===Sunshine Through The Rain=== There is an old legend in Japan that states that when the sun is shining through the rain, the [[kitsune|foxes]] have their weddings. In this first dream, a boy defies the wish of a woman, possibly his mother, to remain at home during a day with such weather. From behind a large tree in the nearby forest, he is witness to the slow wedding procession of the [[kitsune]]. Unfortunately, he is spotted by the foxes and runs. When he tries to return home, the same woman says that a fox had come by the house, leaving behind a knife. The woman says that it is meant for the boy to commit suicide because the foxes are angry at the unwanted observer. The woman asks the boy to go and beg forgiveness from the foxes, although they are known to be unforgiving. So, the boy sets off into the mountains, towards the place under the rainbow in search for the kitsune's home. ===The Peach Orchard=== [[Hina Matsuri]], the Doll Festival, traditionally takes place in spring when the peach blossoms are in full bloom. The dolls that go on display at this time, they say, are representative of the peach trees and their pink blossoms. One boy's family, however, has chopped down their peach orchard, so the boy feels a sense of loss during this year's festival. After being scolded by his older sister, the boy spots a small girl running out the front door. He follows her to the now-treeless orchard, where the dolls from his sister's collection have come to life and are standing before him on the slopes of the orchard. The living dolls berate the boy about chopping down the precious trees, but after realizing how much he loved the blossoms, they agree to give him one last glance at the peach trees by way of a slow and beautiful dance to [[gagaku]] music. ===The Blizzard=== A group of four mountaineers struggle up a mountain path during a horrendous blizzard. It has been snowing for three days and the men are dispirited and ready to give up. One by one they stop walking, giving into the snow and sure death. The leader endeavors to push on, but he too, stops in the snow. A strange woman (possibly the [[Yuki-onna]] of Japanese myth) appears out of nowhere and attempts to lure the last conscious man to his death - give into the snow and the storm, she urges him on, into reverie, into sleep, into certain death. But finding some heart, deep within, he shakes off his stupor and her entreats, to discover that the storm has abated, and that their camp is only a few feet away. ===The Tunnel=== A Japanese army officer is traveling down a deserted road at dusk, on his way back home from fighting in the war. He comes to a large concrete pedestrian tunnel that seems to go on forever into the darkness. Suddenly, an angry, almost demonic-looking dog runs out of the tunnel and snarls at him. He proceeds with his walk, into the tunnel. He comes out the other side, but then witnesses something horrific&mdash;the [[yūrei]] of one of the soldiers (Private Noguchi) whom he had charge over in the war comes out of the tunnel behind him, his face a light blue, signifying that he is dead. The soldier seems not to believe he's dead, but the officer convinces him and the soldier returns into the darkness of the tunnel. Just when he thinks he's seen the worst, the officer sees his entire third platoon marching out of the tunnel. They too are dead, with light blue faces. He tries to convince them that they're dead, and he expresses his deep-seated guilt about letting them all die in the war. They stand mute, in reply to his words. He then orders them to about face, and then march back into the tunnel. Lastly, we see a second appearance of the hellish dog, from the beginning of this dream. This dog was used in the war as an [[Anti-tank dog]]. This is one of three "nightmares" featured in the film. Akira Kurosawa's long time friend [[Ishiro Honda]] may have helped to direct, or have directed this piece entirely. The two always spoke of filming a story of a dead soldier returning from war. ===Crows=== A brilliantly-colored vignette featuring director [[Martin Scorsese]] as [[Vincent Van Gogh]]. An art student (a character wearing Kurosawa's trademark hat who provides the POV for the rest of the film) finds himself inside the vibrant and sometimes chaotic world inside Van Gogh's artwork, where he meets the artist in a field and converses with him. The student loses track of the artist (who is missing an ear and nearing the end of his life) and travels through other works trying to find him. Van Gogh's painting ''[[Wheat Field with Crows]]'' is an important element in this dream. This Segment features [[Preludes_(Chopin)|Prelude No. 15 in D-flat major]] by Chopin. ===Mount Fuji in Red=== The film's second nightmare sequence. A large nuclear power plant near [[Mount Fuji]] has begun to melt down, painting the sky a horrendous red and sending the millions of Japanese citizens desperately fleeing into the ocean like lemmings. Three adults and two children are left behind on land, but they soon realize that the radiation will kill them anyway. ===The Weeping Demon=== A man (possibly Kurosawa himself) finds himself wandering around a misty, bleak mountainous terrain. He meets a strange [[Oni (Japanese folklore)|oni]]-like man, who is actually a mutated human with one horn. The "demon" explains that there had been a nuclear holocaust which resulted in the loss of nature/animals, enormous [[Dandelions]] and humans sprouting horns, which caused them so much agony that you can hear them howling during the night. The last of the three "nightmare" sequences. This is actually a post-apocalyptic retelling of a classic Buddhist fable of the same name. ===Village of the Watermills=== A young man finds himself entering a peaceful, stream-laden village. The traveller meets an old, wise man who is fixing a broken watermill wheel. The elder explains that the people of his village decided long ago to forsake the polluting influence of modern technology and return to a happier, cleaner era of society. They have chosen spiritual health over convenience, and the traveller is surprised but intrigued by this notion. At the end of the sequence (and the film), a funeral procession for an old woman takes place in the village, which instead of mourning, the people celebrate joyfully as the proper end to a good life. This segment was filmed at the [[Daio Wasabi farm]] in the [[Nagano Prefecture]]. ==Cast== * [[Akira Terao]] as "I" * [[Chishu Ryu]] as "Old Man" * [[Martin Scorsese]] as "Vincent van Gogh" ==External links== *{{imdb title|id=0100998|title=Dreams}} * ''[http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1990/dn001180.htm Dreams]'' {{ja icon}} at the [[Japanese Movie Database]] {{kurosawa}} [[Category:1990 films]] [[Category:Fantasy adventure films]] [[Category:Films directed by Akira Kurosawa]] [[Category:Japanese films]] [[Category:Anthology films]] [[Category:Art films]] [[de:Akira Kurosawas Träume]] [[fr:Rêves (film)]] [[it:Sogni (film)]] [[ka:სიზმრები]] [[ja:夢 (映画)]] [[pt:Yume]] [[ru:Сны (фильм, 1990)]] [[fi:Akira Kurosawan unet]]