I have seen quite a few of Kitano's movies and liked most of them very much (with the exception of VIOLENT COP),so my expectations for this film were very high. Perhaps that is some of the reason I gave this film such a low score--I know he is capable of so much better.

The movie is a series of interwoven vignettes about fanatical devotion. While all of these have interesting aspects, the vignettes are chopped apart and you see bits and pieces of each segment throughout the film. However, the sum of all these parts didn't, for me, create a satisfying whole. I just found that apart from being a very pretty film, there just wasn't much to it. I recently read that in recent years director Kitano has taken up painting. This is obvious in the use of colors (particularly bright reds) and images, but the film completely lacks EMOTION. Most of the actors act like zombies--and is highly reminiscent of Kitano's acting in VIOLENT COP (aside from when he was beating the @&%$#* out of people, he, too was a zombie). Now I am not talking about needing lots of emotion but this movie had almost none! Zombies do not equal art. With a little life pumped into it, this could have been a much better film.

Matsumoto (Hidetoshi Nishijima) and Sawako (Miho Kanno) are in deep love for each other. When the president of the company where Matsumoto works "selects" him to marry his daughter, Matsumoto's parents force him to accept the engagement. On the wedding day, Matsumoto is informed that Sawako has attempted to commit suicide and is slow and catatonic in a clinic. Matsumoto feels guilty, and takes Sawako out of the clinic; his decision affects their lives.

The old Yakuza boss Hiro (Tatsuya Mihashi) misses his girlfriend from thirty years ago that has promised to wait for him in a park while he would chase success. When Hiro visits the park, he sees her on the bench where they used to meet each other.

The pop-star Haruna Yamagushi (Kyôko Fukada) has an obsessive fan called Nukui (Tsutomu Takeshige) that stalks her. After a car accident, Nukui makes a decision to be close to his beloved idol.

"Dolls" is a sad and depressive movie based on the Japanese Puppet Theater Bunraku that tells three tales of guilt and eternal love. Each tragic love story is disclosed in a very slow pace and supported by stunning cinematography and excellent direction and performances. Takeshi Kitano has also a magnificent work promoting the culture of his country overseas. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Dolls"

Strange and far from perfect, but an amazing cinematic experience. Takeshi Kitano is best known for his yakuza films, but, with Dolls and Zatoichi, I think he's moved beyond and become a more well-rounded artist. Dolls is a highly aestheticized film that intertwines three stories about undying, insanity-causing love. The structure is very strange, and it doesn't work perfectly. One story, the most effective one in my mind, about a man who tethers himself to his brain-damaged ex-fiancée, takes up the most screen time. However, most of that screen time is devoted just to watching the two stumble solemnly through the seasons of the year. It becomes quite poetic, and a good excuse for creating gorgeous visual compositions. The other two stories take up relatively little screen time, and feel more prosaic (though with a definite tinge of myths). One involves a yakuza boss who, nearing death, visits a park bench where he used to meet his sweetheart when he was a young man – and finds her still waiting for him. The third tale involves a man who is obsessed with a pop star. When she is injured in a car accident, he is not allowed to see her disfigured face. So he removes his own eyes in order to spend time with her. The secondary stories are far less satisfying than the tale of bound beggars, but the three stories do meld into a very satisfying whole. The film also seems to hint at more, and a second viewing might tie everything together much for satisfactorily. It's visual beauty is only surpassed by its highly advanced editing rhythms, and perhaps also its exquisite score, by Jo Hisaishi, frequent collaborator of Hayao Miyazaki.