XXVIII. The 30 Films of Akira Kurosawa: Dersu Uzala [1975] (by Lewis Saul)]

Ed note: For the next several weeks, composer and film aficionado Lewis Saul has agreed to supply us with in-depth commentary about the films of Akira Kurosawa, now showing in an extended festival at the Film Forum. Even if you're unable to stop by the Forum, we think Lew's insights will deepen your appreciation of these important movies.

Dersu Uzala [1975]

PLAYED February 4th at The Film Forum

This is Kurosawa's 25th film.

After the failure of Dodesukaden (1970), Kurosawa attempted suicide, almost certainly because he felt that he would never again be permitted to direct a serious film.

At the time this was completely, brutally true ... and we can only thank God that Kurosawa's maid heard the running water and he was rescued in time ... to make films like this one!!!

In early 1973, the Soviet Union invited Kurosawa to make a Russian film. Of course, in some ways he had already made two (Hakuchi [The Idiot] {1951} and Donzoko [The Lower Depths] {1957}) -- but this would be his first film completely in a language other than Japanese!

The film is based on the autobiography of Vladimir Arseniev (a brilliant Yuri Solomin), a Russian soldier in charge of several surveying expeditions in the Ussuri region of Siberia in the early 1900's. He meets Dersu (Maksim Munzuk, you will never forget him!), a Goldi (Mongolian). Not much happens, other than what normally happens in Siberia on any given day in any given season by any given surveying crew at the start of the 20th century! If Kurosawa were simply intent on allowing us the pleasure of this travelogue ... dayenu, as my people say -- it would have been enough! But this incredible human interest story is so very pertinent today, 35 years later, as human beings continue to act as they did 100 years ago, which is when this story begins -- the year Kurosawa was born: 1910.

The DVD is by Kino and is letterboxed and appears to be in the correct ratio. Nevertheless, this film is just screaming out for a Criterion release.

The rumor that Kurosawa was considering Mifune for the role of Arseniev was just that, according to Mike Inoue, Kurosawa's nephew [Galbraith, p. 508].
On the same page, however, Galbraith quotes Shiro Mifune (his son) as saying, " ... of course Mr. Kurosawa kept asking him to do Dersu Uzala but he said he was busy. My father knew Mr. Kurosawa's films took a long time to make, and he knew he could not go to Siberia for more than one year. It was a difficult situation."
Who knows if AK really asked Mifune or not -- but Shiro's response rings true because it is pretty well known that Mifune always cited the two years it took to film Akahige (Red Beard) [1965] as the main reason he was unable to make any other films with his newly-formed production company (he couldn't touch his beard, for example). I cannot imagine him as Arseniev, in any case.
The film was shot in 70mm. He had previously wanted to make Runaway Train (1985) in this format, but like Tora! Tora! Tora (1970), this became an aborted project. Unfortunate too, because although Konchalovsky made a good film, we all know it could have been even greater!
So off to Siberia for a year -- with only Teruyo Nogami, his long-time assistant and Asakazu Nakai, his long-time cinematographer, who would work along with two Russians more familiar with the Sovscope 70 cameras.
Nogami's new book has several chapters detailing all of her experiences on this amazing shoot. Must reading!
Out of the 100 or so crew, only six were Japanese!
Perhaps the greatest editor of his own films, Kurosawa had the sense to work with Lyudmila Feiginova, who edited five Tarkovsky films; and to hire a Russian composer, Isaak Shvarts.
Temperatures on the shoot dropped to as low as 40º below zero, and Kurosawa got frostbite.
0:00:03. Mosfilms logo.
0:00:14. Russian title card.
0:00:19. American producer credits.
0:00:23. DERSU UZALA (in normal font).
0:00:28. Directed by AKIRA KUROSAWA.
0:00:32. 1910. This opening shot is everything you could dream of with Kurosawa at the helm after all these years -- in a color film (only his second) and in 70mm! A smoky mist drifts through a break in the green trees. Birds chirp.
0:00:40. Under the super (Korfovskaïa), the scene is frozen -- as soon as the super disappears the action begins. A road leading into the settlement is surrounded by half-built houses, men bustling about, a horse or two ...
0:01:00. The man in the cart says that the settlement is so new that "no one's had time to die here yet." Arseniev remarks that Dersu died "a long time ago." Then on further reflection, "not so long ago -- almost three years."
0:02:09. Arseniev finds what he thinks is the spot. He whispers "Dersu." Shvarts' mysterious score begins, and the title (in an italic font, spelled: Dersou Ouzala) supers over a color image which is "blackened" out.
0:02:23. 1902. A plaintive English Horn mournfully sounds out beneath the scenery -- gorgeous brown orange foliage which Kurosawa films in cuts of varying distances -- with the music, a sort of uneasiness prevails -- what is this film about? What is lurking on the unseen trails beneath all those trees?
0:02:52. For starters, this group of singing soldiers.
0:03:51. Arseniev narrates ...
0:06:20. A composer can move a scene and bring something into focus with just a single musical instrument -- in this case, Shvarts uses the bass clarinet to do that. "That valley reminded me of Walpurgis Night, a place where witches would gather for their sabbath," Arseniev writes in his diary. His eyes are closing shut when they hear a noise ...
0:08:13. The translation of Dersu's words into English is hopefully an accurate approximation of what he is saying in his unsophisticated Russian. As the soldiers cock their rifles, Dersu -- still unseen -- shouts, "Please to not shoot! Me are people!" All we hear is the crackling of the fire until Dersu comes into view, the firelight shining on his angelic face as he approaches the group.
0:08:47. He walks right to Arseniev. "Hello, Captain." He sits down and lights his pipe in a medium shot. Kurosawa then pulls back ...
0:09:31. ... to a static three-shot (Arseniev, Dersu and Olentiev [probably Aleksandr Pyatkov, role given is "Olenin"]) which he holds for 2:16! Kurosawa allows the scene to play out very naturally -- Dersu is given something to eat, Olentiev smokes ...
0:11:47. He reverses the shot as Olentiev teases Dersu about missing the stag.
0:12:05. It seems like no one is able to understand each other here! Olentiev doesn't consider that Dersu stopped following the wounded stag to chase after their group; Dersu sincerely believes that this group with all their guns is killing all his food; and Arseniev perhaps believes that Dersu is somehow really interesting (his laugh is tempered just so), but doesn't really understand how.
0:12:16. Olentiev lies down to sleep. Suddenly Dersu cries out "hey, you! Enough babble!" Naturally, Olentiev sits up, thinking Dersu is talking to him. But it is only the offensive piece of "babbling" wood which has attracted Dersu's attention.
0:13:19. After asking his name, Arseniev asks him how old he is. Dersu thinks about it for quite some time, but cannot honestly remember. Right there, you gotta think there's something pretty special and interesting about this guy!
Unlike our yojimbo, Sanjuro, who knows his age but not his name, this character is the opposite!
0:15:28. In the early days, this surely would have been preceded by a wipe. But here, a direct cut takes us to an obscured view (leaves) of the group as Arseniev again narrates about Dersu agreeing to be their guide.
0:16:16. Dersu pulls a Sherlock Holmes! He deduces way too much information for the soldiers, who laugh heartily at his deductions. But of course he is right. Kurosawa continues to film the group from behind bushes and leaves. At
0:17:08 he switches to a shot from high above in a tree. Dersu predicts a shack.
0:17:38. A shack. A deeper peek into Dersu's soul as we watch him work on behalf of people he will never meet. The best the soldiers can do is play a game with the detached door.
0:21:17. Kurosawa shoots the natural scene (leaves in water -- the scummy pond from Yoidore tenshi [Drunken Angel] {1948} has become a tranquil floating world of rich oranges!) as a still life and allows the characters to enter the frame without moving the camera!
0:22:25. Dersu makes yet another prediction. It is raining, the group has taken shelter, and suddenly Dersu gets his things ready and prepares to leave. The others don't understand. But he is right -- the birds are singing; the rain is ending. One of the soldiers speaks to him condescendingly, "Dersu, do you know what the sun is?" Dersu retorts, "Could it be that you've never seen the sun?" As they leave, Kurosawa raises the camera slightly and a beautiful rainbow appears. Movie magic? Oh yeah.
0:23:30. The next shot is even more stunning! In the upper left-hand corner, the moon, three-quarters full; in the lower right-hand corner, the setting sun. Just to the left of center frame, the surveying equipment mounted on a tripod -- looking like a mechanical man staring off into the same direction as Arseniev and Dersu -- who are standing just to the right of the tripod. Dersu explains the importance of these two "men" to Arseniev. He listens with respect.
0:23:58. The soldiers are not quite as enlightened. After a CU of a rapidly boiling kettle perched over the fire, Dersu removes it with a stick -- in two separate cuts, as usual. The present cut is a medium-long shot of the men sitting around the fire while the swiftly running river takes up most of the frame behind them. Dersu (speaking about the boiling kettle):
- "This is bad men. Shout." A soldier laughs:
- "If one listens to you, everything around are 'men.'" The other soldiers laugh.
- "Look. All is men. Water alive."
- "Well, you said it." More laughter. One soldier stands up and points to the fire.
- "Is fire alive too?"
- "Yes, fire is still 'men.'" The soldier laughs and sits down. Dersu continues: "Fire angry, forest burn for many days ..." The soldier laughs again, but it is an uncomfortable laugh -- watch carefully, Olentiev shoots him a look! -- "Fire get angry, frightful. Water get angry, frightful. Wind get angry, frightful. Fire, water, wind. Three mighty 'men'."
As if on cue, the wind picks up at this moment. Autumn is over.
0:25:08. Arseniev continues with narration. "The first snow fell that day." We can see the snow on the ground, so why is this necessary? The narration acts as a kind of meta-accent here -- the snow looks so pretty; but Dersu has just told us all how dangerous -- how "frightful" these men (fire, wind, water) are -- and the innocence of both the visual image and Arseniev's calm narration belies the truthfulness of what we will soon see!
Arseniev and Dersu -- carrying the surveying tripod -- are walking towards the other soldiers. From here on, Arseniev and Dersu form a couple (this film is, after all, a platonic love story between two men) separate and distinct from the others. Dersu is amazed that the soldiers would waste such a precious thing as a bottle. Olentiev is humbled by his earlier comments about Dersu not being able to hit the stag!
We get the names of two other soldiers here -- Seryoga and Taras. (Olentiev calls him Marchenko.) Later, we will learn that Khrushinov is the name of the soldier who goes with Olentiev, Arseniev and Dersu on the Lake Khanka expedition.
Look how Kurosawa and his writer (Yuri Nagibin) use a simple thing like this bottle Dersu "won" and which will later be filled with vodka which will cause him to remember his family ... my point being that it all flows so naturally from one thing to the next -- but that someone had to work very hard to make that happen. This is a writer's blog, after all -- and as a non-writer, I am personally amazed when I sense such mastery behind what I am watching!
0:27:09. What we were denied when the soldiers shot, we are now given -- a CU on the swinging bottle as Dersu prepares to shoot.
0:28:25. Again, emphasizing the closeness Arseniev is beginning to feel towards him, he leaves his men to their (interesting-looking) game of blindfold human tetherball (?) and goes to find Dersu, who is singing a beautiful, haunting song ...
... and whittling a piece of wood ...
0:29:32 ... which turns out to be quite beautiful -- a little tree-like concoction -- which he admires for a moment and then puts on the fire!
Dersu shares a little of his vodka with the fire/man ... Arseniev joins him and hears about Dersu's family tragedy, and even a dream. He says nothing. Cut to
0:32:22 ... the expedition on the march again ...
0:37:44. The incident with the old Chinese man is poignant, especially the next morning when he comes to say goodbye. He makes several deep bows to Arseniev, who finally grabs his hand and shakes it. It is a fitting gesture with lots of under- and overtones of East and West ... Kurosawa allows us to see the magnificence of the old man's graceful exit, played out in a long cut, with only the sound of boots crunching snow and that lonesome English Horn that Shvarts seems to favor.
0:39:03. From behind the tangled branches of a tree, the camera picks up the four men (Dersu, Arseniev, Olentiev and Krushinov) in a flatboat, as they paddle down a narrow strip of water surrounded by white snow on all sides -- on their way, as the narrator informs us, to Lake Khanka. (Don't forget to come back! That last link takes you to a Google map which can easily lead to hours of clicking, as I just did! Look how built up the area is 100 years later! Since we will soon see Dersu and Arseniev facing the setting sun as they look out over the lake, we can assume that they approached it from the east. Also notice how close this area is to Japan -- as the crow flies!)
He says he sent the rest of the men on to Chernigovka.
0:40:15. In a medium-long shot, Arseniev orders the other two to make camp while he and Dersu trek to the lake. The next cut shows us Arseniev and Dersu walking along the frozen tundra in an ultra-long shot -- they are merely specks in the background!
The next shot is close. Arseniev is checking his compass; Dersu calmly suggests that they go back, but Arseniev does not seem worried. Lake Khanka can't be too far away. So, despite the previous scenes which show or infer that Arseniev has developed a great respect for Dersu, here he ignores his advice. Note how AK allows the characters to leave the frame right and holds on the desolate scene for a second. (Kurosawa does this throughout this section.)
0:41:29. They have reached the edge of the frozen lake. Kurosawa presents three separate filmic functions to increase our terror: 1) Arseniev switches to narration. The narrator can express his fears in a way that the character could not; 2) the music; bleak and scary (woodblock!); and 3) the sound and visual effects, howling wind and blowing snow ...
0:41:49. An axial cut takes us close as we see that Dersu is really worried now (the wind has erased their footsteps).
0:42:10. The filmic geometry is perfect here! As the two walk directly towards the camera, we have already been unconsciously prepared to understand that this is the direction back towards the camp.
0:42:14. A more complicated camera movement here, as they move out of the frame left just as the camera pans right and then quickly cuts to an even more desolate scene of blowing snow. Eventually, Arseniev followed by Dersu enter the frame right, looking nearly helpless against the vicious elements. Kurosawa holds on this scene for quite some time, as the two take turns looking for any footsteps or clues ...
0:44:51. A frightening moment. The beauty of the setting sun and the delicate reflections and ripples of the water contrast with Dersu's words: "Captain! Us weren't here! Bad!"
Kurosawa constantly moves from cut to cut here -- alternately showing us the two men as specks in the distance (nature so much bigger than man) or as medium-close, showing us two confused and increasingly terrified men (nature is still so much bigger than man, despite the perspective!)
Kurosawa shows the setting sun indirectly, dramatically. Each cut brings a more burnished, darker look, as it gradually sets. The director takes his time with all this; it seems to unfold in real time!
Kurosawa is still fond of the silent films of his youth (he recalled more than one hundred of them in his autobiography!) and of using silence in his films! The characters speak only sporadically now. Kurosawa presents us with panorama after panorama -- each one more beautiful than the last -- and he uses Shvarts' score here to undermine that beauty completely -- as we begin to realize the horrible danger about the same time as the characters do!
0:47:34. At this moment, Arseniev -- without a moment's hesitation -- puts his life into Dersu's hands. Dersu, too, knows that his own life depends upon Arseniev's cooperation. "Captain! Listen. Listen good." This long scene of grass cutting (7:27) is one of the terrific (and terrifying) moments in the film. Kurosawa alternates between CUs of Dersu and then cuts to the actual grass being cut by an exhausted Arseniev (Yuri Solomin later said that he was "not acting" -- it was hard work!).
Shvarts uses some kind of slightly out-of-tune chimes to create a signature sound for this score. It occurs frequently and makes perfect contrast with the plaintive English Horn melody which he also brings back on several occasions. A really excellent score.
0:50:15. Watch for some gorgeous rainbow camera flares here!
0:53:33. "Take rope!" Again, I revel in the joy of repeat viewing. Here -- knowing exactly what Dersu is going to do -- it is still fascinating to watch him go about the job. (Had he ever had to do this before? Did he just improvise the whole thing on the spot? We'll never know -- but what is important to Kurosawa is 1) the superhuman effort [modestly applied] and 2) the mechanics and details of how he gets it done. The first is the reason for seven minutes plus of grass cutting. It must be shown to be understood. Secondly, the "how" is the window to the hero [or antihero]'s soul! Every single Kurosawa film has this in it -- a detailed look at how something important gets done.)
0:55:01. In this case, Kurosawa has shown us only the merest details of the "how." We have no idea what Dersu is going to do. As Arseniev narrates his descent into blacking out, Kurosawa obliges the viewer with a natural POV and has him narrating over a black screen!
In two separate scenes we see Dersu lighting a match through a small opening in the "igloo." Kurosawa does not explain ~ it's important to pay close attention here:
- In the first cut, Dersu has finally finished building the structure and is ready to crash himself. Arseniev's narrator had just said, "I don't know how long I slept" -- but it is not yet morning! Of course, Dersu woke Arseniev up when he came in, but look carefully -- as Arseniev drops back to sleep you can see his eyes -- he is barely awake, so he barely remembers this!
- The second cut ~ it is morning! "Hey, bear! Climb out of den! Sun is up!"
Without a word to each other, they disassemble the shelter.
0:57:50. Arseniev makes drawings in his notebook. Now we see (best on pause) exactly how Dersu saved their lives!
0:59:00. And the struggle never ends. A straight cut from the rejoicing (they're saved) to the four men struggling to pull a sled over a steep hill.
0:59:32. "Man is very small before the face of nature." What is beautiful about this cut is the way that Kurosawa allows the group to slowly shuffle off frame right and holds on the scenery for an instant. Of course, he does this a lot -- but here it seems especially poignant after Arseniev's last narration.
1:01:00. Two things:
- The midnight sun. Spectacular.
- The music. I'm afraid Shvarts was unable to pretend not to understand the translator when Kurosawa said, "Could you please make this sound like ... ?" (oy vey, again -- yes, another Mussorgsky rip-off request; see Yume [Akira Kurosawa's Dreams] {1990} ~ first dream.)
1:01:31. The group is on the verge of disaster; people are falling down from exhaustion and hunger. Dersu to the rescue: he smells the smoke! (It is logical to assume that someone who virtually lived in the forest would develop an extremely keen sense of smell.) Extremely keen! A moment later he can tell that they are frying fish!
1:01:44. If this scene doesn't make you hungry for fried fish ...
1:02:04. ... it is nice to meet new characters, even though they do not speak a word. Dersu has called them "Udegheis" -- we see a husband and wife and two kids.
1:03:20. Dersu explains his reasons for not wanting to accompany Arseniev to town. The group is so depressed they cannot even put away another helping of fish. You feel so bad for mama. (But I'll bet those kids we saw earlier will not let it go to waste [not to mention the film crew!])
1:06:33. Dersu's encounter with the steel railroad tracks is funny. It is just another sad reminder, however, that Arseniev is returning to civilization while Dersu goes off to hunt sables. The film is more and more a love story between two human beings who come from such radically different worlds that can never be reconciled.
The soldiers sing the song from the film's beginning as they walk down the railroad tracks as Dersu hikes away in the deep snow in the opposite direction. Arseniev stops and watches Dersu, who eventually turns around for one last goodbye. Shvarts' score is gorgeous here and the 70mm frame filled with beautiful images. Right before this next cut, both the score and Arseniev's face betray the danger ahead!
1:10:31. 1907. Under this super and Arseniev's narration (which mentions that it is spring) is a river of melting ice -- an arresting image which takes up almost the entire frame -- but look carefully! There is Arseniev and his large party on the extreme upper left portion of the frame. Many cuts of large jagged chunks of melting ice ...
1:12:46. Kurosawa gradually introduces us to this new group of soldiers, as they slog through the mud and rain. This particular shot is reminiscent of the one at 0:15:28, but that was in autumn, this is spring.
1:14:45. A very rare camera move for Kurosawa, he zooms in on the group far below. The only similar zoom I can recall is from the initial "trolley run" that Rokuchan takes in Dodesukaden (1970).
1:15:07. There is something very peaceful about this entire camp scene. We see ten beautiful horses (#2 is a terrible extra, s/he looks right at the camera; #3 is white, the others are all brown); we meet Turtygin (Vladimir Kremena) who is walking into camp carrying a small deer on his shoulders (someone says: " ... and you said you would bring back a boar!"). He casually tells Arseniev about a hunter he met and we feel almost embarrassed to witness ...
1:17:40. ... this reunion. It is very touching. I might be reading too much into it, but note that the two embrace in a way which is very similar to the scene between Nishi and Yoshiko in Waruiyatsu hodo yoku nemeru (The Bad Sleep Well) [1960], where a bench separates them as they awkwardly embrace.
1:18:14. A nice touch, allowing the soldiers' song to become the "score" for a conversation between Arseniev and Dersu (who are sitting apart from the others, as usual). When the balalaika enters it is played by the soldier.
Perhaps the weakest section of the film, these scenes of animal traps and tied-up men and Chang Pao and Hounhous are perhaps meant to show us how this area was inhabited by many different peoples (Chinese, Russian, Korean, Japanese) ... and maybe even to emphasise the raison d'être for the surveying party in the first place. Chinese officials accused the Soviets of making a film with "anti-China overtones."
1:35:30. The raft scene is not nearly as exciting as the grass-cutting scene ... but the difference here is that Arseniev and his men must use their own resources to save Dersu. However, it is still Dersu who is shown to be the Zen master. They need to cut down a tree to save him. "Not that one ... not that one ... that one!"
1:42:13. Scenes like this one seem a bit awkward. The only purpose is to announce the coming of autumn. He had previously done this with more finesse.
However, the direct cut to the photography session is very effective. Another scene of men and horses struggling to move down a trail would have been too much at this point!
1:43:06. This montage is quite beautiful and quite special. Kurosawa uses axial cuts (in both directions) on these photographs and puts the balalaika we saw a few scenes ago in Dersu's hands. We also see Turtygin with the large boar that he had earlier promised his friends! All accompanied by a Russian oom-pah-pah ...
1:43:46. In this last photo in which Arseniev and Dersu are looking fondly at each other, he uses a big axial cut to bring us super-close to the "lovers."
1:44:32. Our first view of the amba -- the Siberian tiger! To see how this magnificent animal actually blends in with its autumnal environment is quite stunning!
Nogami's book is filled with over ten pages about the problems filming the tiger. You simply would not believe what Kurosawa and his crew went through trying to film these scenes!
1:46:26. The first of the two calamities which will foreshadow the end of Dersu's life. He shot at the tiger and will never know peace again (according to his belief) ...
1:48:25. This scene calls back the one from Part One where Dersu provisions the cabin. There, he did not begrudge the soldiers their ignorance as a lack of compassion or whatever -- but here he screams and berates the soldier who threw the meat in the fire because it might sicken the "men" who visit the place next. And by "men" he means animals. Normal human beings still can't think the way he does -- and now it begins to really annoy him!
1:49:04. As if reading my mind, Kurosawa now creates another stunning composition -- Arseniev is writing in his diary inside his tent, the opening of which forms a cinematic window in which we see Dersu sitting by a smoky-blue fire ... (the tent-pole further divides the frame). Turtygin appears to attempt to cheer Dersu up without success.
1:50:55. As in Part One, Arseniev's narrator explains how the party has split up with the coming of winter. Here he and Dersu are alone. The second tragic discovery ~ his failing eyesight.
Dersu's discovery of this is shown in excruciating detail (as usual) ~ including a call back of the earlier bottle scene.
Sometime's the DVD chapter titles are really good. This one is IMPENDING DARK.
1:57:13. "My home is your home." Arseniev is being kind, if naive. Dersu is on his hands and knees, all four of which are already "home."
1:57:35. This entire "New Year's Eve" scene is very theatrical. The wind, the music cue, the clinking sound of the tree hangings, the tiger's shadow -- all staged to allow Dersu's acceptance of Arseniev's offer to come and live with him. In the old days, Kurosawa would have separated all these scenes with wipes to give it the same type of formality.
2:00:31. Kurosawa goes even further with the dramatics. A spider-web of crimson threads are printed over shots of the tiger. Of course in 2010 it certainly looks a little ridiculous -- but frankly, I think it probably looked that way in 1975, as well. It is not a terrific effect.
2:01:03. Super: Khabarovsk. A frozen black & white image of a neighborhood of tightly-clustered rooftops. Dogs barking, church bells ringing.
Cut to Dersu, shot close but from behind, in front of the fire, his sleeveless blue sweater looking like a costume on our now fish-out-of-water hero ...
2:01:22. Kurosawa gets a chance to remind us of the time period. Mrs. Arseniev (Svetlana Danlichenko) tells her husband that their son, Vova (Dmitri Korshikov) (who now enters the frame!) has made a recording of Dersu's voice.
[Korshikov's father, Karlen, was the Production Manager on the film. The younger Korshikov committed suicide some years later.]
2:02:00. This family scene unfolds naturally and Arseniev, the character -- as opposed to the narrator -- gets to express his deep admiration for Dersu! He also expresses his belief that Dersu will "get used" to the city.
2:03:55. Another wonderful frame-within-a-frame scene, which AK seems to enjoy so much! Perhaps it might be that we are meant to feel like eavesdroppers ourselves as we listen in on what really amounts to a family tragedy.
2:05:45. Was there ever some way that Arseniev and his family could have done something different to prevent Dersu's tragic death? These scenes suggest otherwise. Here, neither the water-man nor Mrs. Arseniev are particularly rude to Dersu about his (to them) crazy outburst about paying money for water; nor is she anything but politely firm to Dersu when he wants to shoot his gun.
Kurosawa elides like crazy now, as we learn that Dersu was arrested. We see Arseniev leave for the police station and then (cut) Dersu is in front of the fire again ... Vova is playing the piano. Dersu gets up and kneels before Arseniev, who pulls him up to a standing position, as Dersu says
2:10:56. "Captain. Please let me go back to the hills." (Vova has just played a dissonant cluster on the piano!) This begins an extremely long take (2:24) which features Arseniev throwing down the book he was reading, walking up the stairs (rear frame) and returning with the new rifle -- all done in this single take! The length of this take is important in order to prepare us for the rapidity of this ending, with so much action elided.
2:13:13. Notice how the cluster Vova played on the piano earlier is now repeated, even though he is nowhere near the piano!
2:13:28. The CU's of the telegram are followed by a high crane shot of Arseniev walking down railroad tracks, a very subtle call back.
2:13:52. He scrambles down the steep bank of snow as if he is going to meet Dersu again after a long absence!
2:14:46. If you love this film as much as I do, these final scenes are hard to watch. That's how excellent a job Kurosawa did in creating the immortal character of Dersu Uzala. The official in charge at the burial site is perhaps no more or less "bureaucratic" than any other official in any other country -- but his inability to feel what Arseniev and we viewers are feeling makes him an annoying character, in any case.
2:17:01. He may be "a busy man" -- but as Arseniev watches his friend being covered with dirt, he cannot help but recall the vitality of the Dersu he knew and loved -- and he is probably holding back his anger and contempt for this official who never knew the great man who now lies there dead. He never takes his eyes off of the gravediggers and Kurosawa keeps the shot long except for two cut-in CUs ...
2:19:06. Having seen Dersu's walking stick on the ground, he plants it on the grave. He stands back and whispers, "Dersu" exactly as he had at 0:02:09.
2:19:26. A huge axial cut to the "vee" portion of Dersu's walking stick, as the English credits roll and Shvarts finishes a touching score with a fully orchestrated version of the song the soldiers sang at 1:18:14.
There are no wipes in this film.