Dolls (2002)

Director:

Takeshi Kitano

Writer:

Takeshi Kitano (written by)

Release Date:

12 October 2002 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Three stories about neverending love.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Pop Star | Blind | Doll | Bench

Awards:

2 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Miho Kanno	...	Sawako
Hidetoshi Nishijima	...	Matsumoto
Tatsuya Mihashi	...	Hiro, the Boss
Chieko Matsubara	...	Ryoko, the Woman in the Park
Kyôko Fukada	...	Haruna Yamaguchi, the Pop Star
Tsutomu Takeshige	...	Nukui, the Fan
Kayoko Kishimoto	...	Haruna's Aunt
Kanji Tsuda	...	Young Hiro
Yûko Daike	...	Young Ryoko
Ren Ôsugi	...	Haruna's Manager
Shimadayu Toyotake	...	Tayu, Puppet Theater Narrator
Kiyosuke Tsuruzawa	...	Puppet Theater Shamisen Player
Minotaro Yoshida	...	Puppeteer of Umegawa the Courtesan
Yoshida	...	Puppeteer of Chubei
Shogo Shimizu	...	Matsumoto's Father

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Hungary:16 | South Korea:15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL | Spain:7 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Trivia:

This is the last Takeshi Kitano film to feature music by Joe Hisaishi. Kitano claimed that it became too expensive to hire Hisaishi for soundtracks while Hisaishi claimed that he didn't like the screenplay of the movie. Actually, they both had an argument about some pieces which weren't selected for the soundtrack, and where to put the others in the movie. They stopped working together since then.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Embrace (2007)

Soundtrack:

Mad

Visually beautiful, emotionally brutal.

It takes a while for DOLLS to sink in. Not because of the complexity of the stories intertwined through the film but because of the sheer emotional impact virtually every scene carries with it.

I won't go into details about the three stories but I can say that, above all else, DOLLS is a lesson in love and anguish and it is by far Kitano's most powerful work, even more so than Hana-bi.

I'm baffled by the negative reviews I've seen of this film since it was first aired. I wonder if it might be a case of the viewer needing to understand the way Japanese often tend to act and feel when faced with difficult or unbearable situations and without that understanding you might question if people would ever really act the way they do in DOLLS. The answer is that often they really do.

I've considered Kitano a master film maker for a long time now. The man has only ever made one film that can't be considered good (the embarrassingly poor Getting Any?) and I consider Hana-bi in particular to be one of the finest films ever made. But Dolls almost functions at another level. I don't know how often I will watch it because it genuinely is emotionally draining but this is simply a brilliant piece of film making. The cinematography is exquisite. The acting is fantastic, especially Miho Kanno who gives such a tragic, beautiful performance while hardly saying a world throughout the film. And above all, the emotional bond forged with the viewer is beyond any I think I've ever seen on film.

Anyone who truly loves film should see Dolls. Actors should see Dolls if only to see how little you really need to give in order to portray real emotion. Directors should see Dolls and learn from a master. I genuinely believe Kitano will go down in history as a genius film maker. Dolls may well be his masterpiece.