Thread: Stealthborn's Foreign Film Review: Dersu Uzala

Movie: Dersu Uzala
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Year: 1975
Country: Russia/Japan
Genre: Action, Drama
Running Time: 141 minutes
Rating: Not Rated

Different countries bring different styles to films that are indicative of their
homeland. But when you have a joint venture when it comes to making films, sometimes special things occur. This is definitely the case with Akira Kurosawa's overlooked masterpiece Dersu Uzala that came much later in his career. He worked alongside the Soviets at the time and created a special film based on the 1923 memoir of Russian explorer Vladimir Arsenyev.

The film starts off with Russian explorer Vladimir Arsenyev in an open forest and looking for an unmarked grave. The film goes through a series of flashbacks that tell the story of Arsenyev with a surveying expedition in that region in 1902 before things developed. This expedition comes across a nomad from an aboriginal Nanai tribe (Nanai are a Tungusic people who originally came from Northeast China) named Dersu Uzala. He decides to help the expedition get through the harsh conditions in their path. At first
everyone looks at him as being uneducated and eccentric, but over time everyone warms up to him as they discover that he is intelligent, skilled with living in the outdoors and how he cares for others. This is evident when he actually saves the lives of Arsenyev and his men. Even after the men reach their destination, five years later, Arsenyev runs into Dersu again in the wilderness and they face another trial when they fall into a river with swift currents while in a raft. Dersu uses his survival instinct
to save their lives yet again. This in turn has Arsenyev look at Dersu as a true friend which stays even to the sentimental ending.



This film was made by Kurosawa after a successful period of films from the 1950s and 1960s. He no longer had Toshiro Mifune to star in his films and had to do things on his own after that. The 1970s were not a big decade for him with Dodes'ka'den not being a critical success in Japan. Kurosawa decided to get away for a while and take on a new production. He worked
in conjuction with the Soviets at the time and filmed almost all of it in the Siberian wilderness. This film also gave Kurosawa critical success and recognition again as it won the Grand Prix at the Moscow film festival and even won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

There are several characters in the film, but it seems to focus more on Vladimir Arsenyev and Dersu Uzala considering that it is from his memoirs. The rest of the characters are just there to help show the bond between these two men. We look at Arsenyev who is just a Russian explorer who has seen different things on his travels. When he comes across Dersu Uzala himself, he thinks of him as more of a stranger at first, but it changes as he gets to know him in 1902 and 1907 on two different occasions. He is thoroughly impressed by Dersu's survival skill in the outdoors which saves him (twice) and the soldiers in the expedition. Although it is slow in coming, Dersu earns the respect from him, and most of all, becomes a friend in his eyes. This friendship is explored even more when they meet the third time when things have changed. Arsenyev cares about him like he was his best friend and wants to make sure that his life is comfortable in the later years. In the end, we see how sentimental Arsenyev gets when he recieves news of his friend that he has not heard from in so long. Dersu Uzala himself is the basis of the story. He has seen a lot thorughout his life in the wilderness and is a hermit who keeps to himself at first getitng in touch with nature. But when he meets Arsenyev and his men, he becomes open and is a kind, gentle hearted human being who puts up with what the expedition thinks of him at first, but through time, shows them all how wrong they were. He is an intelligent person that shows compassion for others when it comes down to lives at stake with the blizzard and Arsenyev's men by saving them. This and a few other things have them change their minds about him which follows the old saying about not judging a book by its cover. And five years later, what he Arsenyev go through with the river has them be friends permanently. But things change for Dersu related to his health and he lives in the city for a bit, but doesn't like life there. Essentially, he is used to living
in the wilderness and doesn't care for that kind of lifestyle. Essentially you can't teach a dog new tricks. Dersu departs but leaves on good terms with Arsenyev which in turn leads to the emotional conclusion. But despite everything that happens, the friendship between Arsenyev and Dersu was a
great one because both men got to experience and enjoy life together for a bit. And they got to look inside their hearts.



A fantastic film that is nearly flawless. The only thing is just describing a couple of plot points like why Dersu didn't get glasses and what these people did during the time they spent away from each other. But these things are so minor that you forget about them as you watch the film. The film is also a little slow too for some but I found no problem with it.

This is a gorgeous film that showcases the Siberian wilderness in its full beauty, the theme of friendship is heartwarming and the story magnificent. I really felt like these two characters bonded and that's how I felt with this movie. I highly recommend this film for something a little different than what anyone else is accustomed to watching. One of the few times that two different countries make a great ffilm together!



9 blizzards out of 10 (9/10)

IMDB.com rating

8.0/10