DERSU UZALA

Now, as I mentioned before, my film – education is largely self-made. It depends largely (not uniquely but largely) on two things : what appears on my desk at work and what turns up in the bargain baskets of large DVD stores. Now, before you say anything DO NOT diss bargain baskets. I found the entire works of Jim Jarmusch in a bargain basket once – it was a while back but the price was VERY reasonable. Anyway, because of the randomness of the incoming films there are gaping holes in certain bits of my afore-mentioned education. Akira Kurosawa is one of the greats who actually tumbled into one of those holes. I’m not proud of it however a fact is still a fact… Anyway, Mom had been (almost literally) eating me alive trying to get me to watch Dersu Uzala – her all time favorite movie. She actually went as far as buying me the DVD (not from the bargain baskets). She finally got me to watch it too, although in the end she almost had to sit me down Clockwork Orange style (see here if you don't know what I mean - disclaimer : still does not belong to me in any way, see www.cswap.com for more)and force me to do it (Not out of any open aversion to Akira Kurosawa more due to a decided lack of planning). As you can see it made it to the blog. Cheers Mom.

Now, Dersu Uzala is set in Siberia at the beginning of the 20th century. Our hero is an army cartographer and captain in the Russian army who has been sent to survey and make detailed maps of the Siberian steppes and forests. He has a battalion of soldiers with him for aid and protection but it soon becomes apparent soldiers will not be sufficient to survive in this land that is in fact completely foreign to them. By chance the little group cross paths with Dersu Uzala, an old Goldi (Mongolian) hunter and trapper who lives in the forest. His lifestyle has varied very little from those of his ancestors; he worships the forest spirits and speaks pidgin Russian. The group find him “quaint” and “old fashioned” but it soon transpires that Dersu Uzala is a force to be reckoned with as far as survival is concerned. The Captain will have his life saved, learn many lessons from and find a true friend in Dersu Uzala…

You may imagine that a film directed by a Japanese director telling the tale of an exhibition in Siberia may not contain that much nail-biting tension. But make no mistake there are true nail-biters in this film alongside truly touching moments. Mr Kurosawa has prepared for us a true roller-coaster of emotion and the excitement is so great that even the fact that the film goes on for two and a half hours (it’s a film from a different generation don’t forget) does not bother the modern viewer. In a funny kind of way – and you may not guess it from the beginning – it is a perfect example of Asian cinema. It is not fast-paced, infact you do not feel the pace at all, which is a remarkable achievement. The perspective is not what we are used to and we are introduced (in my case anyway) to the true spirit of Siberia, feel the power of the tigers and fear the deadly blizzards with Dersu. In fact we are introduced – almost experience – a lifestyle lost in the 19th century… It is a poetic yet strong yet very emotional film… It obviously didn’t win an Oscar® for nothing. And Mr Kurosawa did not become a legend for nothing. If like me you somehow missed it, MAKE time for it…