AKIRA

KUROSOVAS
DREAMS

Akira KurosawaMarch 23, 1910 September 6,

1998)was a Japanese filmmaker. Regarded as one of
the most important and influential filmmakers in the
history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsin a
career spanning 57 years.

Dreams( Yume?, akaAkira Kurosawa's

Dreams)is a 1990magical realismfilm
based on actual dreams the film's
director,Akira Kurosawa, claimed to have
had repeatedly.It was the first film where he
was the sole author of the script.

It was made five years afterRan, with assistance

fromGeorge Lucas,Francis Ford Coppola, andSteven
Spielberg, and funded byWarner Bros..
The film was screened out of competition at
the1990 Cannes Film Festival.

There is an old legend in Japan that states that

when the sun is shining through the rain,
thekitsune (foxes) have their weddings(this is a
common theme globally). In this first dream, a boy
defies the wish of a woman, possibly his mother, to
remain at home during a day with such weather.
From behind a large tree in the nearby forest, he
witnesses the slow wedding procession of

Unfortunately, he is spotted by the foxes and runs. When he

tries to return home, the same woman says that a fox had
come by the house, leaving behind atantknife. The
woman gives the knife to the boy, implying that he must
commit suicide. The woman asks the boy to go and beg
forgiveness from the foxes, although they are known to be
unforgiving, refusing to let him in unless he does so. The boy
sets off into the mountains, towards the place under the
rainbow in search for the kitsune's home.

Kurosawa built a
near exact replica
of his childhood
home for this
segment, and the
nameplate on the
gate even reads
"Kurosawa".
Kurosawa even
showed the
actress playing
the mother a
photo of his own,
and gave her tips
on how to act as
her.[