VILLAGE OF THE WATERMILLS

I had another dream…

The eighth episode from Akira Kurosawa’s film ‘Dreams’

(1990, Colour, 17 minutes. Director: Akira Kurosawa. Awards: Award of the Japanese Academy Nominated for Golden Globe, USA.)

A young man from the city, with a backpack, in walking shoes, blue denim trousers and a blue cap wanders into an idyllic village with watermills. There are two flowing canals connected by a bridge and flowers everywhere. The village has many huts, each with a watermill of its own. There is a look of wonderment on the face of the young man.

A group of children pass.

Children: Good day!

Young man: Good day!

The children cross the canal; pick flowers and put it on a stone near the bridge.

The young man walks on, with a look of wonder and bewilderment on his face. There are bird songs in the background. He reaches a hut where an old man with a straw hat is repairing a watermill. The old man has white beard, white eyebrows, is dressed in blue working clothes; supposed to remind the viewers of Masanobu Fukuoka.

Young man: Good day!

The old man doesn’t hear.

Young man taking his cap off repeats; louder this time.

YM: GOOD DAY!

OM: Good day!

YM: What’s the name of this village?

OM: Doesn’t have one. We just call it ‘The Village’. Some people call it Watermill Village.

YM: Do all the villagers live here?

OM: They live in other places.

YM: There is no electricity here?

OM: Don’t need it. People get too used to conveniences. They think convenience is better. They throw out what is truly good.

YM: But what about lights?

OM: We’ve got candles and linseed oil.

YM: But the night’s so dark.

OM: Yes. That’s what the night is supposed to be. Why should night be as bright as day?

I wouldn’t like nights so bright you couldn’t see the stars.

YM: You have Paddies, but no tractors to cultivate them?

OM: Don’t need them. We’ve got cows and horses.

YM: What do you do for fuel?

OM: Firewood mostly. We don’t feel right, chopping down trees, enough fall down by themselves. We cut them up and use them as firewood. And if you make charcoal from the wood just a few trees can give you as much heat as a whole forest. And, cow dung makes good fuel too.

We try to live the way man used to. That’s the natural way of life. People today have forgotten that they’re really just a part of nature. They destroy nature on which their life depends. They - especially scientists - believe they can make something better. They may be smart but most don’t understand the nature of nature. They only invent things that in the end make people unhappy. Yet, they’re so proud of their inventions.

What is worse, most people are, too. They view them as if they were miracles. They worship them. They don’t know it, but they’re losing nature. They don’t see that they are going to perish. The most important things for human beings are clean air and clean water and the trees and grass that produce them.

Every thing is being dirtied, polluted forever. Dirty air, dirty water, dirtying the hearts of men.

The young man looks around, thinking.

YM: On my way here, I happened to see some children placing flowers on a stone beside the bridge. Why?

OM: Oh, That! Long ago, a stranger who died here, is buried there. People have forgotten it but they still put flowers on the grave.

YM: (Listening to the distant sounds) Is there a celebration today?

OM: (Cupping his ear to listen), No, a funeral. You find this strange? A nice happy funeral. It is good to work hard and be thanked. There are no temples or priest here. So, all the villagers carry the dead to the cemetery on the hill. We don’t like it when young adults or children die. It is hard to celebrate such loss.

People here live a natural way of life. So they pass on at a ripe old age. The woman we are burying today lived up to 99. You must excuse me; I am going to join the procession. (Gets up to go into the hut, before entering the hut, he turns around) To tell the truth, she was my first love. But she broke my heart and left me for another. (Chuckles) Ha ha ha…

The old man goes into the hut and comes out wearing an orange jacket and orange shoes and carrying bells in his right hand.

YM: By the way, how old are you?

OM: Me? One hundred plus three. A good age to stop living. Some say life is hard. That’s just talk. In fact, it’s good to be alive. It’s exciting.

The old man picks some flowers and holding them in his left hand he moves to join the funeral processions, which has musicians and people dancing. He leads the procession with steps and hands moving with the rhythm of the music. The young man watches bemused. As the coffin passes him, he lifts his cap.

The young man is going back with a happy expression on his face. There are sounds of water flowing, birds chirping and watermills moving slowly. He crosses the bridge, halts, looks back and walks rapidly back. He picks some flowers, places them on the grave as the children had done earlier and walks away.

Calm settles down on the village with streams murmuring and birds chirping. A yellow leaf slowly floats down.