gridoon2024 Review of Arizona Dream

Arizona Dream (1993)

Uncompromised English-language directing debut by Emir Kusturica

[7/10 · 21 January 2017]

"Arizona Dream" is the first, and so far only, English-language, shot-in-America film of Emir Kusturica. It was not a commercial success, and it's easy to see why: it's an unmarketable, unclassifiable film. It's about dreams, love, loss, and movies (but not necessarily in that order). It runs nearly two and a half hours, the characters are all oddballs, it switches from broad comedy to intense drama at a moment's notice, and it has a depressing ending. And yet, there is something to be said about a director who breaks the "rules" of movie-making, such as the traditional "three-act" structure. "Arizona Dream", like a dream, is more about the journey than the destination: the journey is sometimes bumpy, but often magical (there are a couple of amazing scenes, for which it is better to be unprepared); Goran Bregovic's music is extraordinarily powerful, and the entire cast is great. *** out of 4.