Clip Art: Dersu Uzala

Dersu Uzala (1975)
dir. Akira Kurosawa


It is not secret that Kurosawa is my favorite filmmaker. Of all his films, one shot that always stays in my mind is one that takes place half way through this clip. Long before CGI, nature had to be captured and not made. That's what makes this shot so outstanding to me. I also love Dersu's philosophies about life. His simple language reminding us how we are all a part of nature and we must respect all of those things that are around us.

This is a really beautiful film about friendship, examining different cultures and how modernization continually pushes us into smaller and smaller boxes may not be the best thing for us as human beings.

This is a movie that came out in what most people consider a "lesser" period in Kurosawa's career. It's a pretty ridiculous statement considering the quality of his body of work. Even though he was struggling in a time when the Japanese film industry was changing around him and audiences were beginning to see him as antiquated, Kurosawa created films that stand the test of time, even growing stronger.