Dreams (1990)
There’s at least one good dream every 8 nights.
Presentation:
One of Akira Kurosawa’s final films, which looks like one of his most modern due to the vibrant color and production. Dreams details 8 short stories loosely inspired by his own dreams, though with little connection between them. To be frank, I only found 2/8 to be interesting, but boy, was that second dream impressive and perhaps more dazzling than Ran. The only other dream I really liked was the Van Gogh one, and I’m not sure I would appreciate it as much if Martin Scorsese didn’t pop up. His performance is mundane, but it’s more of the mere fact that he traveled across the world to collaborate for Kurosawa (and as an actor!) that makes it awesome. Actually, him and Spielberg assisted Kurosawa in producing this film, which is some crazy film trivia and explains why they have such good rapport.
Conclusion:
This has the prestige of a good film, but I’m not convinced it was one. It’s like one of those mornings where I knew I dreamed, but can’t remember what it was about. The film meanders, like a dream, and the storytelling doesn’t really have a cohesive direction or purpose, like a dream. But most crucially, the vignettes didn’t particularly feel like dreams. There’s something about Kurosawa’s long lensing and style that doesn’t really speak to me. Sometimes he’s a great storyteller, but other times his formal presentation loses me, and that subjective voice is particularly necessary for vivid dreams.
Recommendations
There’s at least one good dream every 8 nights.