Cast: Yuri Solomin & Maksim Munzuk
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Rating:
Enetertainment Quotient: 30%
Genre: Drama/Adventure
Runtime: 144 min
MPAA rating: G

Synopsis:
Captain Vladimir Arseniev (Yuri Solomin) is a Russian explorer who leads a team of surveyors in the vast jungles of Siberia in 1910. During that time, he comes across an interesting nomad Dersu Uzala (Maksim Munzuk) who lived his whole life hunting and exploring the territories of Siberia. Dersu agrees to be their guide. Their friendship blossoms and they bond with each other. The rest of the story is all about what happens when the captain ask him to come and settle in his house for the rest of his life.

What is special about the film?
This film is a great film about friendship. The characterization of Dersu is unique. He is innocent, selfless and pro-nature. We see the similar kind of innocence in films like Forrest Gump and Rain Man. His understanding of nature is amazing. This film also makes us think about the clash between the nature and civilization.

The scenes I liked:

1. Dersu pronouncing captain as ‘kapiten’.

2. Dersu’s conversations with five elements.

3. Shooting the rope instead of the bottle so that he could keep the bottle.

4. The shot of Dersu explaining that sun and moon are two strong men.

5. Dersu saving the life of the captain from wind storm by making a weeds tent.

6. Dersu leaving little quantity of salt, rice and matches so that the next traveler could use them.

7. Dersu questioning captain how could they live in boxes (boxes means apartments/houses).

Tailpiece:
Though it had won the Oscar as the best foreign film in 1976, Dersu Uzala is less popular film of the master storyteller Akira Kurosawa. This is the first film by Akira Kurosawa that is shot outside Japan. I found this film to be at par with other great films of Akira. Each film of Akira Kurosawa explores an angle of humanity. This film underlines the importance of civilization to co-exist with nature. And also it’s one of the greatest films made on friendship.