Review of Arizona Dream (1993) by Philip S — 18 Sep 2010

â??Whenever I try to remember my dreams, I always turn â??em into stories. But dreams are like life. You canâ??t catch it with your hands because you canâ??t catch something you donâ??t really see. If you believe in your dreams, you could be sure that any force, a tornado, a volcano or a typhoon, wouldnâ??t be able to knock you out of love; because love exists on its own.â??

Arizona Dream.

This is my favourite film and this is whyâ?¦..

Arizona Dream (1993) stars Johnny Depp, Lili Taylor, Vincent Gallo, Faye Dunaway and Jerry Lewis. Directed by Bosnian director Emir Kusturica, screenplay by David Atkins from a story by both David and Emir. Not only is this a great cast full of some of the best acting talent, it is a film devised from a story and directed by a man with a wonderous imagination and ability to tell a story not confined by the normall narrative structures.

This film has been described as one of those films that has â??slipped through the cracksâ??, but anyone who would consider themselves to be a film fan or even, just a fan of Johnny Depp, would have seen this film. It is both absurd and enthralling; a story that seems quite solid but in the same instance is quite fluid.

The story follows the inner thoughts of Axel Blackmar (Johnny Depp). Axel a â??fish-counterâ?? in New York is just living his day to day life until he has to return back home to Arizona on the request of his uncle Leo (Jerry Lewis). Leo runs a Cadillac dealership and he wants Axel to join him and learn the business. However, Axel reluctantly returns with no interest in selling used cadillacs. He is more concerned with exploring his own dreams about Eskimos and fish. As Axel describes his uncle as his childhood hero, he is unable to refuse his uncleâ??s offer and agrees to stayâ?¦ a while.

One day, Axel meets two odd women. Elaine Stalker (Faye Dunaway) and Grace Stalker (Lili Taylor); mother and daughter. Elaine is a widow of a rich miner, which Grace inherited all the wealth. Axel and Elaine become romantically involved and he becomes enveloped into this obscure family discord and discovering where his love resides. We are then treated to a marvellous discourse of absurdity that includes some of the following: an ambulance flying to the moon, turtles, yo-yo suicides, russian roulette with a pistol, Vincent Galloâ??s character Paul re-enacting the crop-dusting scene in â??North by Northwestâ?? for an audition, which later becomes an obscure reality for Paul. Plus, many strange scenes with flying machines and rooftops and thunderstorms and a mexican band.

All in all, this is a beautiful story about a boy becoming a man and exploring the difference between dreams and reality and how they intertwine.