Bill Viola’s Hatsu Yume (First Dream) (1981) [REVIEW] | Perchance To Dream Fish

So, i’m not gonna lie, this is kinda out of left field, because i sure wasn’t familiar with Bill Viola’s work before i decided to do some research for this review, and still don’t know much, this isn’t exactly my field of expertise, but i figured it would be interesting, it sure was one of the strangest DVD finds ever.

Yeah, someone dropped at one my local flea markets this DVD (french edition but with english text on the back of the box) release of Hatsu Yume (First Dream) by Bill Viola, had no idea what it was but for 3 bucks, sure, it looks and sound interesting enough.

Sometimes while thrifting, among the piles of shitty editions of movies you already own (and discard age old editions of FIFA or PES titles, especially here), you can find something interesting, so keep perusing, you never know.

You might find even rare old ass avant-garde American videoart on physical media.

As already said, i did some research and tried to see some of his works available online, some as most of his works seem to be/are installations at museums that combine video with the physical experience/presence, so just seeing the video wouldn’t be the same, but i was able to see his collaboration videos made with Nine Inch Nails for their 2000’s tour, and a clip from his The Quintet (which is apparently 5 times longer and slower when seen in person at the MOMA, not exactly a trip i can afford right now)…..so i did stick to plan of seeing Hatsu Yume and say what i think about it without having to basically go through a masterclass on Bill Viola.

And setting myself to do even more research work when i have my hands full with my master’s degree at the time (i’d say as of the time of writing but i think i will still have a lot to do even when this drops), so hope you understand, let’s move on.

Hatsu Yume is indeed what the japanese title means/translates to, as in the “first dream” done on the night of the new year’s first day, which in Japanese tradition is forier of the year’s overall luck (with the dream considered auspicious if either a hawk, an eggplant or Mount Fuji appear in it), and by extension gives great significance to the things done of the new year’s first day.

To this Bill Viola shot this documentary of sorts in Japan, as in its 50 minutes of footage and photos, transitioning from slideshows to half-speed still footage of woods, beach-side rock formations, often transitioning to other – now playing at normal speed – slice of life scenes of things like the nightside view out of a game parlor, people smoking on a fishing boat, the aftermath of a picnic, live squids still pulsating while on the deck of a boat, mountain sunsets.

All obviously with no dialogue and no real soundtrack, just the ambient sounds of “silence”.

It’s a bit longer than needed, i feel, but it does manage to capture that dream-like feel of randomness that retains some hints of logic, or the attempts the mind does to fashion out some sort of significance to the content of dreams, managing to capture the random assemblage of mundane events, landscape and events that yet , in this case by mostly playing around with visual language’s basic tools, but indeed managing to create some aesthetically interesting sequences

It’s minimalist arthouse stuff that straddles being somewhat hypnotic yet also somewhat sleep inducing, and it’s oddly more convential than these kind of projects are, but it’s not bad.

For reasons i’ve explained before, i don’t know how it stacks compared to Bill Viola’s other works, but it’s not unbearable or anything, i do wish it was either more visually ambitious or shorter.

This one also happens to even be listed or have its own voice in Bill Viola’s (who passed away in July 2024) filmography/videography on Wikipedia, it’s not mentioned as one of his more known or important works, but i can say it’s worth checking out if you have any interest whatsoever in experimental video art, especially one using documentary lo-fi footage of yore to try deliver a metaphysical exploration of a “Japan first year’s dream” as seen by a foreigner.