:
Miho Kanno,
Miho Kanno,
Hidetoshi Nishijima,
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:
Takeshi Kitano,
Takeshi Kitano
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: Not Rated
: Palm Pictures
: Drama, Foreign, Romance, Japan
: 133 min.
: Japanese, Jap
: English
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Master filmmaker Takeshi Kitano returns behind the camera for the first time since his indifferently received English-language effort Brother (2000) with this operatic tale of lost love. Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif -- specifically, the kind practiced in Bunraku doll theater performances -- opening each section of his film with a story provided by the puppets and their masters, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto (Hidetoshi Nishijima) and Sawako (Miho Kanno), a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter. He initially agrees, causing the unstable Sawako to be committed to a psychiatric hospital. When he leaves his new bride at the altar to save Sawako, however, he realizes that she's so incapable of caring for herself that she needs to be tied to him with a red rope. Inextricably bound, the two wander through Japan, encountering others along the way who have similarly overlooked love for other, more fleeting pleasures: fame, power, money. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
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| Ironic Romantic Tragedy (plus lots of EYE CANDY!!)
by nerdgir1
April 7, 2005 - 10:51 AM PDT
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0 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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| i am in love with this movie. i want to own it. i want to watch it over and over again. it seems like it would be boring and slow moving but honestly the eye candy cinematography and the brilliant use of color and dream like symbolism create a feast for the imagination and stimulate even the most ADD prone watcher (that likes art films). the two main characters are archetypes for the restrictions society places on our emotions, particularly love. each couple featured in the movie is some way restricted in their movements to be together, somehow shielded from the world, and it's society and their desire to pursue material gain in society that keeps them from being with their ideal partner. what particularly makes the movie interesting is the extreme random nature (yet somehow very human and realistic portrayal) of the characters. they epitomize various archetypes each of us possesses through their seemingly crazy behavior. the movie is spiked with moments of irony that make the story particularly enjoyable. if you are the type, like me, who hates the corny optimistic nature of romantic comedies or romance movies, then you will particularly enjoy the tragic, yet realistic portrayal of love in this particular film. i'll admit it, i cried in the final scene. it was great. |
| Walk-a-thon
by talltale
April 1, 2005 - 8:40 PM PST
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2 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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I don't know what to make of DOLLS, Takeshi Kitano's try at an all-out "art" film. Exceedingly beautiful to look at, for the first half hour it appears that this gifted and genre-jumping director is filming a tragic tale of jilted love and the price paid by both jilter and jiltee. In fact, by film's end, you may agree that this is indeed the director's intention. Along the way, however, he injects two other stories that only fitfully come to life and detract as much as they add to his theme. (And I wonder if you will also find the "walking" just a tad too much.)
I am glad I rented this one and would do it again for the beauty alone. Perhaps I simply don't know enough about Japanese culture and history to fully appreciate the film. Still, in all regards I can fathom, it comes nowhere near Kitano's most fully realized (not to mention enjoyable and energetic) work: "The Blind Swordsman: Zaitoichi," which he made the year following "Dolls." |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.67)
73 Votes
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