Dolls

A genuine departure for Japanese director Takeshi Kitano (whose often violent films include The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, Fireworks, and Brother), Dolls is a beautifully filmed downer (inspired by the stories and conventions of Bunraku doll theater) that interweaves three sad tales about the selfish and sacrificial aspects of love. In the first, a young man under pressure from his parents jilts his intended fiancée for a better socioeconomic match; when the fiancée attempts suicide and later becomes catatonic, the young man literally binds himself to her with a long red cord and the pair shuffle wordlessly (and very slowly) down various roads over the course of the film against the backdrop of the four seasons (this near silent mood piece defies logic--no explanation is given for how the young man springs his former fiancée from a hospital, or how the pair--whom passersby jeer as "bound beggars"--come up with the wherewithal for their costume changes). In the second interlocking story, a dying old yakuza boss visits a park where as a penniless youth he had abandoned a girlfriend who promised to return each Saturday until he had made something of himself. In the final tale, when a pop star is disfigured in a car accident, she retreats from the public, until her biggest fan goes to extraordinary lengths to meet with her. Although I won't reveal the outcome of any of the narrative threads, all share similarly plodding storylines and require a massive suspension of disbelief that may be possible in folktales, parables, and Bunraku theater, but is much more difficult to sustain in a live-action film. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD extras include interview clips with the director, two of the actors, and the costume designer, totaling a little over 30 minutes. Bottom line: while the interview with Kitano is interesting--and offers insights into his inspirations from Bunraku--it doesn’t change the fact that Dolls is an ultimately tedious film populated by unbelievable characters.] (R. Pitman)