Unfolding in a series of eight mythic vignettes, this late work by Akira Kurosawa was inspired by the beloved director’s own nighttime visions, along with stories from Japanese folklore. In a visually sumptuous journey through the master’s imagination, tales of childlike wonder give way to apocalyptic apparitions: a young boy stumbles on a fox wedding in a forest; a soldier confronts the ghosts of the war dead; a power plant meltdown smothers a seaside landscape in radioactive fumes. Interspersed with reflections on the redemptive power of creation, including a richly textured tribute to Vincent van Gogh (who is played by Martin Scorsese), DREAMS is both a showcase for its maker’s artistry at its most unbridledm and a deeply personal lament for a world at the mercy of human ignorance.

“‘Dreams’ will knock your eyes out without ignoring the mind and heart.” (Rolling Stone Magazine)

“A magnificent, immensely absorbing experience.” (Washington Post)

“For all its expensive production values, simplicity of emotion seems to be the keynote — as it was in Shakespeare’s last plays.” (Sight and Sound)

“It’s something altogether new for Kurosawa, a collection of short, sometimes fragmentary films that are less like dreams than fairy tales of past, present and future. The magical and mysterious are mixed with the practical, funny and polemical.” (New York Times)

Wednesday, October 7
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change
Advance tickets $15 HERE | $15 at the door

Saturday, October 10 Final screening!
Doors 4:25 pm | Movie 4:45 pm *Start time subject to change
Advance tickets $15 HERE | $15 at the door

*Minors permitted in the balcony. Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service and main floor seating.
*Sorry, Rio Theatre Groupons and passes n/a for this screening.

PLEASE NOTE: All of the Rio Theatre’s screenings are operating at a sharply reduced capacity. We can’t guarantee availability of tickets at the door, so advance tickets for all screening events are strongly recommended. Our online box office can be found at www.riotheatretickets.ca. Online sales for every screening automatically end 1 hour before any given showtime.

DREAMS (Akira Kurosawa, 1990 / 120 mins / 14A / English subs) A collection of magical tales based upon the actual dreams of director Akira Kurosawa.