 
In a world far away from his usual fare, director Takeshi Kitano (The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi) takes an image from his youth and creates three unique stories that find a common point of intersection in Dolls. These tales are inspired by Bunraku doll theater, a tradition that dates back to the 9th Century and that incorporates a team consisting of a narrator, a shamisen player and puppets, each puppet being manipulated by three puppeteers. In the opening sequence of Dolls, we witness such an event, setting the stage for the stories that follow. Using the image of two “bound beggars” - a young couple bound together with a long, red cord wandering through the city and countryside of Japan, Kitano weaves tales of love and loss with deep emotion and vivid photography. In the first story, a young man succumbs to the pressure of his parents
and spurns his bride-to-be in favor of the boss’s daughter in
order to secure his future. When the broken-hearted young woman attempts
suicide, the groom ditches his wedding ceremony and finds her at a hospital
in a near-catatonic state. Overwhelmed with guilt, he sneaks her out
and gives up his everyday existence to take care of her. They live out
of his car and wander about, bound with the long, red cord. They pass
the home of an aging yakuza, reminiscing about his past and the woman
he left behind when he was a poor factory worker and contemplated entering
a life of crime. When he revisits the park where the two of them would
share Saturday lunch, he finds a surprise. The third fable concerns
a young pop star who is disfigured in a car accident, then later encounters
her biggest fan and the lengths of his devotion to her. All three are
beautifully filmed with brilliant color and composition that bring out
the intensity of the four seasons and the action on screen. This is
a most thoughtful work and will leave many lingering images, long after
it’s over.
|
Dolls