Review by Zandro Salvo

Based on the century-old writing of Japanese author Natsume Soseki, Ten Nights of Dreams comes from the collective imagination of ten Japanese directors interpreting each night as a short film. Like a night of dreams, this fragmented project is a combination of the forgettable and the vividly fantastic.

Each director plays with different techniques: from the commonly-used over-exposure, canted angles, superimposition, and slow motion, to animation, claymation, and silent film - each dream is unto itself. Unfortunately, the majority are toss-off's.; only about four of these films are worth delving into deeper. While the brilliance of the imagery in the animated dream sets it apart from the rest, its heavy-handed narration leaves little room for interpretation. Fortunately, the several dreams in which claymation and puppetry are used for both horror and comedy really punctuate the effect of dreams on the human psyche. The final dream’s anti-pork/anti-shallow message is put forth in such a fresh and satirical way that it could easily stand alone as a festival favorite; however, the saving grace of this film, and the film’s turning point, comes half-way through when a pop-locking Japanese version of a “Mad Max” extra uses his insane rhythm and fashion sense to carve wood. This could possibly be the only film to win with both the Sundance and YouTube crowds. Overall, these films are as close as it comes to dreaming: some are worth delving into and saddening to relinquish while most disappear when the lights turn on.

Ten Nights of Dreams
Jissoli Akio et al | Japan | 2006 | 110min

Thur. Sept. 27 | 6:45pm | Empire Granville Theatre
Tue. Oct. 2 | 12:00pm | Empire Granville Theatre
Sun. Oct. 7 | 1:30pm | Pacific Cinematheque