A Review of “Dreams” by Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa is one of my favourite directors of all time. That being said, Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams (1990) has a sentimental place in my heart. It is not only a collection of short stories but also a journey that takes us to discover what it means to be human in the face of nature’s overwhelming force, the passage of time, and the consequences of our actions. The movie consists of eight dreamlike sequences. Throughout the movie, you will be on the journey of questioning human’s place in the world, reflecting on our responsibility towards one another and nature, and facing our dreams, fears, desires, and guilt. 

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A Short Insight of the Stories

The first dream of the movie is The Sunshine Through the Rain which is a story of humans coexisting in nature in harmony, our curiosity towards the awe and wonder in the world, and a reminder of the existence of the greater things than ourselves. The movie progresses with the second dream, The Peach Orchard exploring the very human nature in the theme of sacrifice and the inevitability of loss, and how we are connected to one another. This reminds us of our struggle both physically and emotionally.  Similarly, the third dream The Blizzard sheds light on the universal human struggle for survival in the face of overwhelming forces beyond our control and reminds us how vulnerable we are against the harsh realities of nature. 

The fourth story, The Tunnel is a story about a soldier encountering the spirits of soldiers who lost their lives in the war in a tunnel. The tunnel symbolises a passage between life and death and the story reflects the trauma and the impacts of war. It represents how destructive the wars are, and the collective guilt left behind. The fifth dream, Crows, takes us to the mind of Vincent van Gogh regarding his struggle with his artistic identity and inner thoughts reflecting how we, humans seek to leave a mark on the world through the ways we know the best. 

The sixth dream, Mount Fuji in Red, visualizes environmental destruction and human irresponsibility. The story refers to a future dystopian world where Mount Fuji is surrounded by toxic radioactive pollution, exhibiting how destructive consequences we can face due to our actions. The seventh dream, The Weeping Demon is about a post-apocalyptic world caused by human negligence. The demons in the movie are born from pollution and environmental destruction. This story shows us how we have responsibilities towards each other and the nature and the bitterness of the consequences of our actions. 

The Eight Dream: The Village of the Water Mills

The last story is my favourite story in the movie. It is about a man entering into a mesmerising village where people are living peacefully and in harmony with nature. The man sees children putting flowers on a large stone and as he moves on he meets an elderly, wise man who is fixing a broken water mill wheel. The man gets curious about this magical place. When he asks the name of the village the wise man says that it is referred to as simply “the village” whilst the outsiders call it “the village of the water mills”. 

The man wonders how everything functions without electricity. The wise man explains how they live in nature with harmony, rather than trying to fight against it. This story represents how we are a part of nature and reminds us how we forget our connections to it. The most striking conversation in this story for me was when the wise man explained “Humans got used to convenience so much thinking that it is better. However, they forget what is truly good”. When the man asks about the village not having electricity and lights, the wise man answers “We have candles. Why do we need to brighten the night just like the day. We can’t see the stars without the dark”. The man also asks about the children putting flowers on the stone, the wise man tells him  “Long ago, a traveller died on that spot. The villagers buried him there and placed the rock there as a headstone. Ever since, it has become customary in the village to offer flowers there”. 

The story ends with a parade-like funeral of an old woman nearby. She lived a fulfilled happy life in a peaceful village in harmony with nature people celebrated her long peaceful life rather than mourning her death. This dream is one of the most beautiful parts of the movie in my opinion. It beautifully represents our connection to nature and how we forget our belonging to it. We destroy it even though we deeply need nature to exist. Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams offers visually rich and sentimental stories reflecting what it means to be human as a part of nature. 

Picture of Sümeyye Temirov​

Sümeyye Temirov​

Communication Specialist & Blog Editor at IWNE. MA student in International Relations and Regional Studies at University of Tartu and in Human Rights in the Digital Society at Tallinn University. Interested in forced displacement, migration, integration, security studies, and peace and conflict studies, with a focus on relationalism. An activist, highlighting human stories affected by war and to promote dialogue on critical global issues through digital tools.

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