AN ANALYSIS ON AKIRA KUROSAWA'S "DREAMS"

      

       

              
           “Man is a genius when he is dreaming."- What better way to interpret this abstract film than by looking through the morality and symbolism that each of Kurosawa's dreams behold.

           

            The film is in itself a collection of eight fantasy-like and ethereal moments based on the director's dreams starting from his childhood anxieties. Some of the themes were woven from Japanese folklore and others if not all were drawn from strong emotions like guilt, fear, and death which make most to Kurosawa's nightmares. He expressed, in an idealistic approach, his disappointments into the society that he inhabited where man's stupidity could ruin everything. The movie is a representation of his failures in the real world which manifested themselves through his dreams. A phenomenon that we usually encounter in our unconscious psyche during our sleep.

            Kurosawa’s scenarios open and close much like your eyes as you drift off to sleep and then are suddenly aroused by a noise or an internal intuitiveness that somehow wrestles you back into awakened awareness. The ghoulish characters are more like symbolic than real. Just like in dreams, these symbols parallel the realities and emotions which every viewer must take note and take time to ponder upon. Only in this way can we appreciate the flawlessness of the film rather than indicting it for its unorthodox style. There is plenty of imagery involved which showcases mostly of unwelcoming mood rather than pleasant, except in the last sequence which we feel an ounce of humor and peace opposing the earlier dark segments. The dialogues are written clearly and are well-placed juxtaposing the powerful performances by the actors. The only downside I can draw from the film is its dragging scenes which can bore anyone who is unfamiliar to Akira Kurosawa's  works.

            The first sequence "Sunshine Through the Rain" explores Kurosawa's curiosities and anxieties as a child. We can come up with the explanation that out of our forbidden curiosity and or disobedience of the law, we must face the consequences resulting from those actions. Maybe in the awakened life, Kurosawa as a child committed disobedience which he carried into his dream because of his strong guilt. The dream didn't put him into a favorable position or so we thought. We would never know.

            "The Peach Orchard" which is the second sequence explores how nature is being threatened by man's environmental destruction that could ironically lead us towards the path of development and progress not minding that we are losing the most important element in human existence- nature.

      We would wonder how would anyone destroy such beauty for a price of something we would later regret. The child's innocence and devastation at human's destruction prompted the spirits to give him a chance of seeing an orchard bloom. This is yet a symbol of hope emphasizing that as long as someone cares enough, then there's still a chance.

            The third segment which is entitled "The Blizzard" is one of the most memorable segments in the film. It taps man's desires in reaching his goals no matter how hard the challenges might be. The snow spirit in a form of a woman symbolizes the temptations that may lure us along our way. By defying the comforts that the spirit offered, the man survived the horror of the storm and reached his destination. That's what we must also do in reality.

            Another powerful sequence of the film can be found in the fourth dream entitled "The Tunnel". The segment exploits anti-war idealism that Kurosawa has in mind and how the stupidity of war could claim the lives of thousands of people who have also aspirations of their own. The scenes were so dramatic and heavy that you could even feel the horror and atrocities that  war could bring. The scene also showed the commander's guilt in his role on the death of his platoon. In a symbolic attempt to turn his back to on his own painful memories and suffering, the officer commands the platoon to march forward. "The Tunnel" is, thus a tremendous charge of emotions and the scar of war.

             "Crows" features the famous painter Vincent Van Gogh. It studies the soul and obsessions of an artist by looking within his art and styles, a challenge that spectators may find interesting. It also connotes to a generic phrase saying  'art is everywhere' and that it takes quite pondering to appreciate the things around us.

           

            "Mount Fuji in Red" and "The Weeping Demons" have similar messages and that would equate into the vile effects of Nuclear War to humanity only to realize that man's worst enemy is himself. A chain of reaction from man's greed and ambition can be seen starting from the explosion of a nuclear reactor causing the eruption of Mount Fuji to the mutation of humans and plants because of the radiation from the mentioned explosion. In the end the only one we can blame for those events is the stupidity of man. The only demon we should fear is ourselves.

            The last dream is the "Village of the Watermills" wherein we are taken into a place of tranquility and natural existence free from technology and consumerism. The world that is built is so cheerful and harmonious that we could even wish we are there. It's a big shift from the nightmares encountered. While it's good to be alive, death should also be celebrated. The segment is so literal and that there is no need to think about having to decipher its meaning, something that's unpromising from Kurosawa.