Movie : Dersu Uzala (1975) Russian

Genre : Adventure | Drama

Director : Akira Kurosawa

Our rating : 9.5/10

Dersu Uzala is definitely a Perfect Adventure Classic Movie well sculpted by the master hands Akira Kurosawa and stands out one of Epic movie of all time. Movie plot is about a Russian Explorer Arseniev who along with few crew members been sent to Siberian desert ( 1902 ) by Russion military for a surveying expedition on areas around the place near to Lake Kansha. Its one of the toughest terrain in the area and he or crew knew very little about it. There he comes across a strange short looking homeless Orphaned Goldi tribe hunter who is none other then Dersu Uzala. The captain and the crew provide Dersu shelter and food for that night and the next day dersu decides to guide them for their expedition and decides to travel along with the crew. Derzu knows in and out of the terrain and he hows how to read nature , predict things correctly and decide on the route they should take. Initially the crew look Dersu as a Funny human being but later they start to realize how great he is as a person with a good soul and as a excellent hunter. In many occasion Dersu had saved Arseneiv from the clutches of death. For dersu , helping one another is must to live in a forest but for Arseniev , derszu's life saying hand had a deep impact on him and he gets emotionally attached to his friend Dersu. They travel through tough situation , in different climate conditions with nature's angry face against them be it Ice , Water , Air , Fire or the animals in the forest , they surpass them with the guidance of Dersu. Then along the end of expedition , arseniev invites Dersu to travel with him to the city and to stay with him for ever. But as a man of forest and child of nature he doesn't wanna leave the forest and with a saddened heart ,they part their ways and dersu continuous his hunting journey and Arseniev bids farewell to his friend .

Many years pass by and its 1907 Arseniev takes up another Surveying adventure with a new crew. He moves through the forest every day expecting to meet his Old friend Derzsu and finally he does. The scenes gets too touchy as if you are meeting up a childhood friends after many long years. They share drinks , they sing along and the duo friends decide to travel along on this new adventure. It was all good for Arseniev as if he got his life back with his close friend near by , but things take a wild turn when Dersu partially looses his eye sight and that he is no more capable of Hunting and surfing , guiding the crew through the forest. Dersu is totally shattered and broken for he cannot no more live a life of a hunter and his life been paused. Arseniev decides to take Dersu to his home this time no matter what.

Then few months go by and derzu is now in a city where there is no more Hills or terrain to navigate through , where human souls are self arrested within a four walls covered wooden box called house , where rifle shooting is banned and constructing tents outdoor is banned , where people live by rules and where Fire wood and water doesn't come for free . Dersu is not comfortable for this city life and he is not accustomed to it. He wants to be in a place where there is no rules , nothing money could buy and where one can life alife of their own. So begs his close friend to send him back to the same forest. Arseniev understanding his friend feeling decides to send him back. He gifts a new model costly rifle to Dersu thinking it can be useful for hunting.Few days pass by and Arseniev gets a telegram that a unidentified body of a goldi tribe found near forest and that he had arseniev visiting card in his pocket and to help police identify the body. Arseniev doesn't waste any time and travels to the place. He sees the undertaker digging the burial hole and that the dead body face is covered with a cloth. Arseniev was not able to remove the cloth to see the face where he couldn't see his friend Dersu lying there breathless. Later police help to remove the cover and that's it , its all silence for few minutes and arseniev expression would talk the scene with no dialogues further. . Later he comes to know that the someone had killed him for the valuable rifle dersu was holding.He is broken and depressed one being loosing his close friend and second for being a cause of his death indirectly and movies closes up with a sad touching note . Its no surprise AK had you there with tears in your eye which even you wouldn't have realized.You would be so involved that it would take few minutes for the audience to realize that Dersu is a movie character and that you are not Arseniev.

Akira Kurosawa has done wonders in this film. He had brought the essence of pure acting from his cast and crew. He also played a naturalist and a environmentalist , while walking through the film he does pinpoint many areas of current issues like deforestation , killing of animals for skins etc packed as a movie with strong message to the people... A definite pure class movie portraying a sentimental bond between two friends and a true adventure movie makes you feel as if you are traveling along with them This movie would be definite virtual treat with those brilliant tracking shots and landscape views on different climatic conditions.. From fine wide angle landscapes to brilliant use of light, colors and shades this movie cinematography is top notch. Dersu as a simple kind calm man , would touch our hearts and will def decomes a unforgettable character far this will sustain as one of my best characters came across in movie world. A must watch for film freaks especially for those who love adventure films


FAM Quote : Man is very small before the face of nature amd friendship is more than words. Watch this movie and feel the magic. Be a part of it.