Arizona Dream
My paper for English 101H class of prof. F.Libman.

The film "Arizona Dream", directed by Yugoslavian Emir Kusturica, seems to be an outsider in America, though it is extremely popular in Russia and some European countries. This might be strange because the action of the film takes place in the U.S., in Arizona, and famous American actors are starring in this film: Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis, Faye Dunaway, Lily Taylor, Vincent Gallo. Such unpopularity among American audiences deserves to be investigated.

"Arizona Dream" is a philosophical, mythological and meditative film. Emotions and feelings keep flowing; reality and dreams mix in this clever and funny film, but you feel sadness deep inside you watching it, especially at the end. The only thing that is missing in this film is a True Hero. Johnny Depp is the one, but he can not be called the Hero from the American point of view. He has a bright, sensitive soul and does not see himself fitting into society and is not sure he wants to make an effort to try. He does not want to participate in the wealthy family business with his uncle who wants him to take over. Instead he falls in love with a crazy woman twice his age who plans to take off for Papua New Guinea and builds a flying machine. At the same time he loves (but does not know it till the end) her step- daughter, who is ugly, beautiful and strange in non-American way, who plays the accordion and dreams of a suicide in order to come back as a turtle. He lives with the two of them and an Eskimo dog from his dream at their old ranch. He builds weird flying constructions with his older lover and fights with the daughter. His best friend is also quite strange – he is so affected by movies, that sometimes he falls in trances as the participant of this or that film. These people are hilarious, they are dangerous, they are dreaming all their life away. They believe in absurd things, they want to go to Alaska and live there forever falling in love with each other in endless circles. Even the uncle of Johnny's hero is not quite sane from the American point of view. He seems to be sane at the beginning, but deep inside his soul he is the same crazy dreamer and child as the others. The uncle is about to marry a very young and beautiful girl (she is not normal as well; sometimes she suddenly starts crying without any reason). He has a dealership and he dreams of stacking his Cadillacs up to the moon. He uses cheap cologne and grows cactuses. In the end he dies and the ambulance gets him directly to the moon. The film is wonderfully filmed; it has very special and unusual effects. It is true, funny, romantic and naпve, and it is desperately lonely in the sea of American movie industry.

It is really amazing how Emir Kusturica managed to make a film about America with Americans who behave exactly like Russians. May be this contradiction ads to the unpopularity of the film here. The rare Americans who have seen this film say it is pointless and crazy in a weird way. My Russian friends consider this film to be one of their favorite and say it explains a lot about life. I take this film as one of the basics in my life.

Just a few comments about this film from movie critics. "There is also some fish and balloon symbolism and a framing device with Eskimos. None of it makes sense. All of it is a bizarre and badly acted bore, guaranteed to clear theatres in record time." "Different is good. Eccentric can be good. Weird is sometimes good. "Arizona Dream" isn't good. It's just weird."

I think such a reaction occurred because so many Americans have gotten used to have everything explained and chewed for them. They are not taught to think and interpret events of the film by themselves. Everything that is not absolutely clear seems to be boring and weird for almost everybody. All American classic films do not have any cross-meaning and unsaid things; they are straight and understandable. They usually have only one interpretation suitable for a wide audience. So the film "Arizona Dream" usually puzzles and irritates them. Which is understandable: what other Dream can exist but the American one.

All in all I am extremely grateful to Emir Kusturica and his American cast for creating this timeless piece of art that enchants and inspires my life.



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