Dolls

Takeshi Kitano's Dolls (2002) follows three different stories that have one theme in common - love. There is the story of a couple wandering in surreal landscapes after they face an emotionally drastic challenge in their lives. Another story focuses on an old yakuza boss who suddenly remembers a girlfriend he had decades ago. The third story tells about a famous pop idol and her obsessed fan who goes to great lengths to stay in touch with her.

Kitano has all the ingredients for a great film. The storylines begin in a promising way, but fall flat sooner or later. The first storyline is overlong and redundant, the second storyline is somewhat decent, but the ending is simply too abrupt and completely irrational. The third story ends up being quite decent and fascinating - I wish it would have been extended into a full feature film. Kitano gives us hardly anything tangible in the film - it's simply too vague. All of the characters are detached from the real world by love, but nothing is made out of that. Kitano seems to have run out of ideas for his "artsy film" - especially the terrible ending proves that. Dolls tells you how not to end a film. Even though I hate the glaring flaws of the content, it has a few redeeming qualities - such as the fascinating characters and observation on love (even if it's too distant).

Kitano's form is challenging because the film runs at such a slow and dreamy pace that it can easily make one fall asleep. However, it is fitting for the film. The delicious cinematography kept me interested throughout the film and the poignant musical score was a nice touch on top of the nice visuals.

Ultimately, Dolls is an intriguing film which is sadly flawed and at times frustrating.

Score: 6 out of 10