Based on the memoir of Russian explorer Vladimir Arsenyev and named after his Nanai trapper companion, Akira Kurosawa’s scenic adventure Dersu Uzala cherishes a great friendship amidst the harsh Siberian landscape. In the early 20th century, Captain Arsenyev embarks on an exploration of the Shkotovo region of the Ussuri territory where he meets the eponymous Goldi hunter, a man living in harmony with nature, who agrees to act as a guide. Over several years the two forge a beautiful bond defined by their appreciation for each other’s differences and mutual support in surviving their rugged environment.

A late career jewel in Kurosawa’s crown, Dersu Uzala was a project he had long dreamed of that rescued him at one of his darkest moments. With funding from the Soviet studio Mosfilm, the Japanese master filmed this thrilling and heartwarming epic in the difficult Sikhote-Alin wilderness for about two years, capturing its natural majesty in gorgeous 70mm (his only film with the format and his only non-Japanese language film). Dersu Uzala found great success outside Japan and even won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1976, effectively resurrecting Kurosawa’s career, rejuvenating his passion for cinema and saving his life.

This film plays as part of our BFFs film series of best friends, frenemies, toxic bromances and so much more. Enjoy the second-hand emotions of watching people who love and love to hate each other, in allegedly platonic ways.