Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Mjeteconer Just perfect...

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

hrkepler It is extraordinarily beautiful film. Maksim Munzik stars as Dersu, a lonely hunter with lots of 'nature's street smarts'. He befriends with the Russian army captain who leads the team of explorers in Siberia. 'Dersu Uzala' is a tale about survival and man's ancient quest to conquer nature. It's also a tale about finding your own soul. While Dersu leads army captain and his men through rough terrains (doing it without any interest getting personal gains) he tells them about forest, and amazes them with his positive and seemingly naive (very wise, actually) outlook on life. Respect towards man and animals, living or nonliving - Dersu calls everything men or people (ljudi).Very beautiful film, but not only because of magnificent cinematography or Akira Kurosawa's masterful direction, but more because of the beautiful soul of Dersu.

lasttimeisaw This is one world-class piece of work desperately in the waiting line for a BluRay revamp, watched this Kurosawa's Soviet Union film in DVD format, the quality is discouraging, but the film speaks for itself in shedding bells and whistles and homing in on a camaraderie between a Soviet military explorer and a seasoned local hunter among the bleak Ussuri inhospitable region. Storyline-aside, it is another Kurosawa's awesome visual spectacle, a tremendous field shooting endeavor, epitomizes by the sun-moon co-existence with solemn placidness, furthermore, it is a hymn to mother nature, Dersu personifies as the harmonious co-habitant of the mighty wilderness, a sublime soul with well-versed survival skills, on the contrary to my recent watched documentary TOUCHING THE VOID (2003, 8/10), DERSU UZALA owns a purer and more admirable prospect, instead of conquering the insurmountable to chase a spur of glory and invincibility, it is far more intrepid and unpretentious to be a part of it with reverence and be respectful to its law and act, in addition to its indefatigable undertone against industrialized modernism (it is the brand-new rifle, a token of friendship, actually wreaks the somber demise of Dersu). Strictly speaking, there is merely two characters in the film, Dersu (Munzuk) and the Russian Captain (Solomin), a bond is tenably formed through their expedition in the wild, from lush jungle to walking-on-the-thin-ice frozen river, the life-saving bravado during a squalling night when they lost their track on a snow land or a torrent peril, Kurosawa molds a great range of topography with taut excitement where it is required. The character study of Dersu also is been executed through the observation and the interaction from Captain (viewers' proxy), who is enthralled by Dersu's simple yet ethereal nature, a rare bird may or may not be extinct now. The dual-acting from Munzuk and Solomin is the fruit of naturalistic emancipation and unassuming engagement. Also a memorable presence is Isaak Shvarts's accompanying score segues from lithe to menacing, eerie to sonorous, with Russian folklore and shanty as well.Being a Chinese, I cannot avoid mentioning the sensitive timing (after China and Japan's rapprochement in 1972 and China and Soviet Union's dispute in 1969) of the film-making, which prompted an accusation from Chinese government concerns a so-called political libel on Chinese people, mainly by vilifying Hunhutsi (which literally means red beard in Mandarin) as the villain and the nature-balance defier. But honestly, this episode is largely overstated since there is no direct confrontation at all in the film, at least for my compatriots, don't let this smokescreen blinds your eyes, DERSU UZALA is a spirited ethnological oeuvre could inspire whoever has a chance to watch it, preferably on a big screen or at least a BluRay edition.

Favog DERSU UZALA just blew me away. Set prior to the Russian revolution it tells a deceptively simple story of a small band of Russian soldiers on a challenging mission to survey a Siberian wilderness that's forbidding in summer and absolutely treacherous in winter.Fortunately for them, along the way they encounter Derzu Uzala, a little man who lives his life alone, at one with the forest and its creatures, and who agrees to serve as guide for the expedition. He's at one with his surroundings; he refers to animals and plants and stones and everything else in his world as "men;" he's short; he's initially perceived to be a fool but it turns out he's incredibly strong and capable and wise; he can handle a weapon more skillfully than any of the soldiers -- it's almost as though the Force is with him. Yes, I realized when I heard (read) his mangled syntax that Artoo and Threepio clearly weren't the only characters George Lucas lifted from an Akira Kurosawa movie.But that's a side issue. This film is gorgeous and gripping: I was hooked from the opening scene and I hung onto every small thing that happened from then on. And really, in this film only small things happen, but they add up to an epic tale of nature and the ultimate wonder and tragedy of life itself. And it's all set against the backdrop of breathtaking Siberia.My only regret about seeing this wonderfully photographed film is that I didn't see it on a huge screen in a proper movie theater. The Kino DVD transfer just made me sad. There sat the movie on my widescreen TV like a pitiful postage stamp surrounded by an ocean of black border. Sure, I could enlarge the picture to fit side to side, but then the subtitles were chopped off at the bottom. I think Kino could have done better and I hope Criterion will someday give this film the loving care it deserves.

ShannonTriumphant Yes, it sounds corny, but "Dersu Uzala" is (to me) really a love story as well as one of friendship; I cannot think of a more complete, platonic love between two friends. Just think of the scene in which Dersu and the "Capitan" spy one another through the dense woods, reunited after years, and rush towards one another, shouting each other's names. It was a giddy moment, and tearful.As much as these two very different men bond, they remain different. Though Arseniev is changed dramatically by Dersu's influence (as are his men, to some extent), Dersu remains pretty much the same. He is organic, part of his wild environment, as much as the trees, rivers or animals. His inner thoughts, though partly understood by Arseniev, remain largely a mystery to the sensitive Captain. In some ways, I think the latter likes this better than knowing all about Dersu, as if he ever could.Much has been made of the stunning scenery and Kurosawa's "lingering" way of filming it, which was so perfect. There were also very intense scenes, in which the two men were pitted against the very active forces of nature, such as a snowstorm and a raging river, not to mention the mysterious and symbolic tiger that stalks them. Add to all that the humor that bubbles up regularly, from both men, usually in surprise at the odd way the other does things, and you have a very dynamic film, despite its apparent tranquility. One of my favorite scenes is the Christmas encampment, in which the men have decorated a tree with various things like tin cans, forks and even chunks of ice. It signifies the turning point, especially for Dersu. At first it is comical, but this is also when he becomes obsessed with the tiger's "ghost".I can't imagine anyone finding the pace of this film "slow"; it is just right. Any faster and we would have "The Edge" instead (which makes me wonder if some of that was inspired by "Dersu Uzala"). Not that the latter film was bad--I actually like it quiet a bit--but it is no "Dersu Uzala"; few films ARE.-SPOILER- I agree with the person who wrote that Dersu's death seems appropriate; for, once his sight was almost gone, how could he live in his natural environment? And he could not handle modern, city life. It was the only way out for him, though quite sad. To me, it symbolized the death of the old hunter-gatherer culture across the world, and the "triumph" of industrialization. Even Arseniev, despite his respect for Dersu, makes no attempt to change his modern lifestyle to go live in the wild. He is content to be part of the 20th Century.The fact that the two men bond so deeply WITHOUT becoming like one another or trying to imitate each other to any great extent, is what makes this a love story, I think, and a tragic one. They know that they can never live in one another's worlds for long, try as they may.Some have compared Dersu Uzala to Yoda, but I think the old man would laugh at this. Unlike Yoda, he did not seem to see himself as particularly special, which was part of his charm. He reminds me more of Jeremiah Johnson or later, Lt. Dunbar, or better yet, Kicking Bird in "Dances with Wolves". He craves simplicity and merely living off the land, not wisdom, nor even enlightenment, as Westerners see it. Perhaps that's because he already has it.