Analysis of Kurosawa's "Dreams" and Jim Jarmusch's "Coffee and Cigarettes"

"Dreams" is a combination of eight short films by the quintessential film director called Akira Kurosawa. The short films that form the entire movie are well developed in such a way that they embody and chronicle the visionary mindset of the director. From the first dream "Sunshine through the Rain" the film sets itself as an allegory or epitaph of the world adversely affected by human obsessions with development at the expense of nature (Warner Bros. Entertainment n.p). The film embodies a cautionary theme of nature's conservation. Throughout the stories, the director demonstrates his worries about the abuse of nature in his time, the clamor for nuclear power and what may ensue because of such unceasing endeavors. Even though the film appears as embodying fantasies common with imaginative films, its main motifs show the director's nostalgic cry about identity.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

In the first dream called "Sunshine Through the Rain", a small Chinese boy is warned by the mother against leaving the house, but he defies it and inadvertently gets into the woods to witness a wedding of human foxes (Warner Bros. Entertainment n.p). At the point, the author symbolically reflects on the absurdity of investing fully in the vividness of nature. The theme of conservation is carried into the second dream "Peach Orchard" whereby a boy chases a girl into a razed orchard encounters traditional china dolls who surprisingly gain the human ability to chastise him about condoning the family cutting down the peach trees. The dolls are in a green hillside in Yokohama which shows an environment that is still pristine. In "The Blizzard" where men struggle to navigate through a mountain-top snowstorm and gulp for oxygen, the director demonstrates the un-presented struggles that humanity will have to endure due to their unreasonable destruction of nature. He presents a time when people have to undergo frustrations to survive.

The third film "The Blizzard" explores a path which has a lot of pain and temptation dangers that are hidden by appearance. In Kurosawa's fourth dream "The Tunnel" the themes that emerge include awareness of death, sense of guilt from the survived people, and stupidity of war. In the "Mount Fuji in Red" the main theme was man's idiocy through the pessimistic representation of the forthcoming future while "Crows" portrays the use of nature in arts (Warner Bros. Entertainment n.p). Furthermore, "The Weeping Demon" and Village of the Watermills focus on nuclear power plants that are built close by and post-calamity future respectively.

"Coffee and Cigarettes" is a black and white confection that is directed and by Jim Jarmusch. The film provides a glimpse of American pop culture, humor, addiction, and envy. The film has short vignettes that are mainly centered in the universal past time of smoking cigarettes and sipping coffee although people know that the two habits are harmful health wise (Sabagh n.p). Jarmusch is regarded as the master who discerns the soul movement in inconsequential and small activities. The film starts with a coffee encounter between Steven Wright stand-up comic and Roberto Benigni Italian director. Steven says he likes cigars since they make the dreams he had to go faster. In the second vignette, there is an interruption by Steve Buscemi. He interrupted a conversation between Joie Lee and Cinque with an elaborated story concerning the twin brother of Elvis (Sabagh n.p). Interruption is also a game's name in a place where a woman is irritated since the waiter fills her cup frequently and creates a balance of temperature, sugar, coffee, and cream.

In the vignette of "somewhere in California", Tom Waits and Iggy Pop are featured. Iggy is waiting in a restaurant and Waits comes in. The two friends then have a conversation in which they claim that they have stopped smoking and make fun of the people who still smoke. Unbelievably, they then smoke a cigar in celebrating that they have quit smoking. Another interesting vignette is "Those Things'll Kill Ya" that features actors Vinny Vella and Joe Rigano. In the film, the son of Vinny Vella, Vinny, and Jr. Joe are having coffee as they argue as they insult one another (Sabagh n.p). During that time, Vinny is telling Joe that he drinks much coffee and it is better for him to quit. However, Joe says that he is not quitting. "Renee," features actress Renee French who drinks coffee while looking at a gun magazine while E. J. Rodriguez is the waiter and he is eager to be of service. In the "No Problem," Isaach De Bankole and Alex Descas are friends who had not seen each other for a long time, and they met to talk over cigars and coffee (Sabagh n.p). Alex then invites Isaac at the restaurant, and Isaac suspects that the call from Alex was an indication that his friend had a problem and because of this he keeps questioning Alex.

In the "Cousins," plays as a non-famous and fictional cousin called Shally that she meets in a lounge of the hotel over coffee. However, smoking is prohibited at the lounge. "Jack Shows Meg His Tesla Coil," features Meg White and Jack as they are having some cigarettes and coffee (Sabagh n.p). In this film, Cinque Lee acts as a waiter. "Cousins?" stares British actors Steven Coogan and Alfred Molina. The moment Molina learns that Coogan is there in Los Angeles, he invites him for tea instead of coffee and they have several discussions. "Delirium," features hip hop artists RZA and GZA who drinks caffeine free tea (herbal) as they converse with the waiter Bill Murray concerning the dangers of nicotine and caffeine (Sabagh n.p). "Champagne," features Taylor Mead and William "Bill" Rice as they spend their coffee break having a conversation.

Both Kurosawa's "Dreams" and Jim Jarmusch's "Coffee and Cigarettes" are vignettes, and they have a central theme in which the different vignettes revolve around. "Coffee and cigarette" film is a black and white confection while the "Dreams" film is colored. The films have different actors acting in different vignettes. The "Dreams" film focuses mainly on the advancement of human needs without the protection of nature while "Coffee and Cigarettes" revolves around American pop culture, humor, addiction, and envy.

The "Dreams" of Kurosawa explored identity. Any audience irrespective of the demographics can relate easily because of identity which is inherent in humanity. His ability and ability to evoke a powerful reaction to international audiences. In the "Dreams" the director engrosses in a single introspective examination of realizing his dreams through the film. Furthermore, the director explored personal and unique dream subject which by nature are from the psyche of an individual dreamer. In the film, the director sets aside the desire of appealing to a specific type of audience and looks inwardly using filmmaking art as the main method of expression. The "Dreams" revealed the deepest thoughts of men which are liberated in sleep. However, the main theme in the "Coffee and cigarettes" film is the absorption in the joys, obsessions, and life addictions. "Coffee and cigarettes" use black and white motion and a diverse cast of celebrities appearing as themselves. In the film, it is revealed that the consumption of cigars and coffee only facilitates a certain conversation level in which the relationships ambiguity among the actors and lack of scene distractions develops social awkwardness which varies in the presence of cigarette and coffee consumption jointly. The scenes in the film also indicate a comment on the normal American relationship in the community, and it is a critic of the American work ethic.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the two films are essential since they explore different paths. "Coffee and cigarettes" film mainly focuses on American culture while the dream's film focuses on exploring identity as it is human nature. The dream has eight different dreams with specific themes while "Coffee and cigarettes" have eleven vignettes but the same theme.

Works Cited

Sabagh Atusa. "Coffee and Cigarettes 2003 720p DownloadRooz." Youtube, produced by Jim Jarmusch, 12 March 2004, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBgJ7OrybVk&t=262s.

Warner Bros. Entertainment. "Akira Kurosawa's Dreams." Youtube, produced by Akira Kurosawa, May 11, 1990, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D62I9ZJFYY4.