DERSU UZALA
USSR, 1975, 142 minutes, Colour.
Directed by Akira Kurosawa.
Akira Kurosawa has made many masterpieces like Living, Rashomon, The Seven Samurai and Toshiro Mifune Samurai epics. Here he offers a majestic simplicity, the bonds between a Russian military explorer in Siberia about 1907 and the Siberian peasant-hunter, Dersu Uzala, who guides him. The adventures they share, the comradeship, the sense of being alive are superbly communicated in a long and slow-paced film which beautifully portrays the grandeur and savagery of the Siberian landscapes. This Russian film, made by a Japanese artist, shows how basic human values transcend nations, politics and cultural differences. It shows how cinema itself transcends these boundaries. Oscar, Best Foreign Film 1976.
1. The impact of this film in interest, enjoyment, awareness of the qualities of human nature?
2. The film and its impact as a Russian film, Russian people and history, atmosphere and environment, style? How would the film have been made differently in another country?
3. The impact of the Japanese director? His creative meeting of Japanese style and technique with Russian history and character?
4. The use of colour, Panavision, musical background? The visual presentation of the landscapes and their variety, the seasons, the atmosphere? The impact of visualizing the remote parts of Russia and Siberia, the geographical expeditions and the looking at the landscapes with those eyes, the contrast with city life at the end? The impact of Russia and its terrain at the beginning of this century?
5. How well did the film visualize and explore the theme of man within primitive nature? Civilized man the explorer within mountains, lakes, winter and summer, storms and blizzards, rivers? The hunters who lived within this environment and their approach to life? The soldiers and the hunters meeting and sharing their experiences? Man and nature?
6. Comment on the structure of the film, the flashback framework, Captain Arseniev's narrative? His viewpoint on his own work, on Russia and its landscape, on discovery, on the hunters, on Dersu Uzula and his character and friendship?
7. How interesting a character was the captain? His qualities as a nun, as a soldier, as a Russian, as an explorer? His skill at his work, his judgement? His relationship with his men? The work and spirit which he had in his exploration?
8. The dramatic impact of the arrival of Dersu? His introduction, his skills, his basic humanity and simplicity? The background of a wild nun? The encounter with the Chinese? The contrast and learning from the contrast of the ways of civilization and the wild?
9. The importance of the encounter with the Chinese? The impact of the episode in itself, its revelations especially concerning Dersu?
10. The scenes of exploration, the growing bond between the captain and Dersu, how was this summarized by the episode of their being lost on the lake, the atmosphere, the long sequence of the growing blizzard, their sense of being lost, the cutting of the grass, survival, the captain's unconsciousness and Dersu's saving him? The quality of human nature portrayed in this episode?
11. The strength of the bonds created? The nature and quality of the affection and the way this was represented, the best in human nature? The final eating scenes, the goodbyes?
12. How well did the film make the transition to 1907, the new expedition, the visual impact, the use of the seasons and the beauty of summer, the contrast with the winter? The new group of men and the captain's leading of them? Morale within the group? The captain as anxious to find Dersu, his alertness, the joy and his running to find his old friend? The dramatic impact of Dersu's arriving again? The fact that he was older slower, becoming blind? The spontaneous joy in seeing the captain again? The importance of the encounter with the tiger. the overtones of primitive religion and superstition. symbolizing Dersu's fears and his age? The importance of the encounter with the bandits and their local police? The episode of the raft and Dersu's endangerment, his swift thinking in helping with the rescue, the joy with the rescue? The beauty of the photo collage showing the relationship between the captain and Dersu and their work together. a memento?
13. The impact of age, his eyes and his trying to shoot and aim, superstition and the preparation for death? The encounter with the real tiger?
14. The visual impact of the city the home., the contrast of civilized family life with the rooms the meals piano etc.? Family relationships and the personalities of wife and son? The captain as fitting into this, the studious nun at home? The impact of Dersu's being boxed in, the fires, chopping down the trees. his incomprehension of the law? His friendship with the captain's son and communicating his skills and experience? The importance of the gift of the gun? Of the captain's letting him go?
15. The pathos and anonymity of Dersu's death? The sad irony of the motive because of the gun? The importance of the captain going to the funeral, the impatience of the local policeman? The continuation of this theme throughout the credits?
16. The representation of human achievement, the outlook of realism, the hopefulness in human nature, the implicit sadness if not pessimism in the ending?
17. The portrayal of man and human nature, natural man, intelligent man, the laws of nature and of society? The bonds of friendship transcending this?
