1990, Dir. Akira Kurosawa 119 min, 35mm Projection
Even at the age of 80, Akira Kurosawa’s films were as vivid as they were forty years prior. Though he had abandoned the groundbreaking black and white inventiveness of “Rashomon” and “Seven Samurai” for a dazzling Technicolor palate, his subjects remained as kaleidoscopic as ever. Ranging from glowing abstraction to the horrifically tangible, Kurosawa’s “Dreams" illustrate an eccentric mindscape that’s unified by his deep-rooted fears of increasing industrialization and the prospect of nuclear destruction. Throughout this myriad journey we encounter a procession of forested spirits, forlorn mountaineers, silent phantom armies, and even Vincent Van Gogh in a coy performance by Kurosawa’s preeminent contemporary – Martin Scorsese. Largely overlooked in its initial release, Kurosawa’s genre-breaking mosaic is now considered one of his late masterworks.
