Dreams (PG)

Japan/USA | 1990 | 119 mins

Directed by: Akira Kurosawa

Starring: Akira Terao| Mitsunori Isaki| Martin Scorsese

 

Dreams is mesmeric, challenging, and unique. It’s one of the final films, and a departure from his archetypal Samurai epics, of the legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. In this extremely personal project, he presents an anthology of eight wildly differing dreams he was plagued with throughout his life. Spanning an array of themes from death, guilt, spirituality and fear, to more particular subjects like environmentalism and nuclear fallout, each vignette, for the most part, comes across like a mystical folk tale of old.

 

Although the screenplay was penned entirely by Kurosawa, the production was a collaborative effort. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg were instrumental in bringing the vision to life, and Martin Scorsese, who cites Kurosawa as 'my master', makes a cameo appearance.

 

Films like Dreams come along only once every few years. They echo through the generations, transcending linguistic, economic and geographical barriers. While Kurosawa's legacy was secure long before Dreams, this film undoubtedly deserves a place in his highlight reel.