Dersu Uzala (Russian: Дерсу Узала, Japanese: デルス·ウザーラ; alternate US title: Dersu Uzala: The Hunter) is a 1975 joint Soviet-Japanese film production directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film won the Grand Prix at the Moscow Film Festival and the 1975 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The film is based on the 1923 memoir Dersu Uzala by Russian explorer Vladimir Arsenyev, about his exploration of the Sikhote-Alin region of Siberia over the course of multiple expeditions in the early 20th century. The film is almost entirely shot outdoors in the ruggedly beautiful Siberian wilderness. As with most of Kurosawa’s work, each frame is carefully composed to form a dramatic picture. The film explores the theme of a native of the forests who is fully integrated into his environment, leading a style of life that will inevitably be destroyed by the advance of civilization. It is also about the growth of respect and deep friendship between two men of profoundly different backgrounds, and about the difficulty of coping with the loss of strength and ability that comes with old age.
Dersu Uzala (Russian: Дерсу Узала, Japanese: デルス·ウザーラ; alternate US title: Dersu Uzala: The Hunter) is a 1975 joint Soviet-Japanese film production directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film won the Grand Prix at the Moscow Film Festival and the 1975 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The film is based on the 1923 memoir Dersu Uzala by Russian explorer Vladimir Arsenyev, about his exploration of the Sikhote-Alin region of Siberia over the course of multiple expeditions in the early 20th century. The film is almost entirely shot outdoors in the ruggedly beautiful Siberian wilderness. As with most of Kurosawa’s work, each frame is carefully composed to form a dramatic picture. The film explores the theme of a native of the forests who is fully integrated into his environment, leading a style of life that will inevitably be destroyed by the advance of civilization. It is also about the growth of respect and deep friendship between two men of profoundly different backgrounds, and about the difficulty of coping with the loss of strength and ability that comes with old age.