BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Tim Kidner Told through a mixture of old Japanese culture and contemporary film- making, the three separate love stories overlap and interweave cleverly but subtly, too.Without any sullying from saccharine sweetness or melancholy, all three tales strain the credibility of what we would normally think a person's love for another would go to. But, that's the beauty - this is a dream- felt movie, exaggerating hardship and our emotions to emphasise that extraordinary bond that love can be.It's all interconnected by symbolisms and the extraordinary cinematography of Katsumi Yanagijima has us shimmering and floating in rose gardens, amongst autumnal leaves and under cherry-tree blossom. It is here that we take breath and sigh, after the often difficult human journeys we've just seen the characters go through. We cannot help but feel that we have journeyed with them - and perhaps suffered too.To me, it's the first story of the jilted bride who's rejection sends her insane and the subsequent redemption and dedication from her boyfriend to the extent that they become homeless that it the most moving. Their story united the other two stories and adds symbolism at the end. The tale of the ageing Yakuza who finally feels that he needs more than his violent lifestyle to exist as a human being and the fanaticism for a young pop singer also paint vivid pictures on Japan's social and cultural agenda.It did remind me of south Korea's 'Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter...' in that often idyllic and contemplative gestures and activities are interspersed with morally questioning random acts that leave cavities in people's lives and the atonement needed to rectify them; or at least to try to, in a soul-satisfying way.

Kirill Galetski Actor-Director Takeshi Kitano has received a lion's share of attention from the international film press and public for his often hard-edged, violent dramas about policemen and Japanese mafia, inflected with a touch of artistic flair.Therefore, DOLLS comes almost as a total surprise and persuasively affirms Kitano's reputation as a cinematic artist. It illuminates another side of Kitano that is not evident in his other work – that of a poet moved by love. A lyrical tale of tragic sacrifices made in the name of eternal devotion, it follows the fate of three very different couples, linking their plights with that of a couple from a 17th-century bunraku puppet theater play, two sequences of the performance of which open and close the film, forming formidable book-ends which put the film's other passions into cultural context. The opening shots of the dolls coming to life at the hands of master puppeteers are nothing short of exhiliarating.The cinematography by Katsumi Yanagishima is extraordinarily fluid and opulent. The clothing was designed by progressive couturier Yohji Yamamoto, himself once a subject of a film (Wim Wenders' little-seen 1989 documentary NOTEBOOK ON CITIES AND CLOTHES) and the costume designer on Kitano's previous film BROTHER.The film slowly but surely draws the viewer into the characters' inner worlds: a young man running from an arranged marriage at the last minute, his true love – a fragile girl pushed to the brink of insanity by the thought of him leaving her, an aging gangster in the autumn of his life faced with the stalwartly loyal woman he left years ago to join the yakuza, an obsessively devoted fan of a bubble-gum pop star who commiserates with her in her disfigurement after an accident. There is an unreal, fairy-tale feel to the proceedings that creates a pervasive air of mystery. The film is powerful in a strangely low-key way and its narrative flexibility defies explanation while leaving itself open to many different interpretations. It is definitely a film that requires an active imagination to appreciate, and its minimalism and inscrutability are part of the unique fascination it conjures. Highly recommended.

ctavispost Visually, Dolls is a meeting between the style of Kitano's "Fireworks" and "Scene at the Sea" with that of Yimou Zhang's "House of Flying Daggers" (what with the crazy colour saturation and all). It was slow, well directed, and beautifully shot, with at least passable acting and intermittent scripting. Watching this movie is like seeing three lovely, modern Japanese short stories intent only upon evoking a mood. It isn't for everybody, but art lovers of various stripes will find something to appreciate in it.It contains 3 stories, running concurrently, told in a very confusing series of flashbacks which nearly devastate any sense of time. There is a simple and obvious thematic connection between the three tales; each focues on tragic, personal, and eccentric love. Even so, the way the stories are intertwined seems forced and flimsy. And none of the endings are very satisfying. Both the slow pacing and the many-layered memory-based flashbacks set a nostalgic, almost mournful mood, but can also alienate the audience. The film never really hits a rhythm, and the flashbacks have nothing to distinguish them from what is presently happening in one story or another."Dolls" would benefit from repeat viewing, but it's a little too much to be watched any time soon after seeing it. Also, a more thorough understanding of Japanese culture and, specifically, the bunraku (Japanese puppet theatre) which underlays the movie (both as an art and as regards the specific story focused upon in the bunraku scenes included in the movie) would make the piece more immediately accessible. There are some things I picked up on, thanks to my limited knowledge of Japan, that I doubt most non-Japanese people would know of, but I am certain there is much I missed along those lines.I'm a big fan of Kitano's work--his writing, his directing, his acting in Japanese movies, his comedy, his paintings are all impressive in their own ways--but I would not recommend this movie to most people, including the man's own fans. With that in mind, it's still worth watching in its own manner.

crazymonkeyparade The first five minutes of "Dolls" had me at odds with the film, and very close to turning it off. But the first five minutes are extremely important, and as the movie went on I liked it more. I will have you know that there is no happy ending in this movie, and the final scene made me sick to my stomach with sorrow. But it is truly a moving film, that will have you thinking about the dimensions of love and what it has become in today's society. In most romantic dramas, there is usually sex, but not so in this, which made me want to applaud the director for showing the depths of love without the physical part. There is also very little dialogue, so you MUST pay attention to the screen. Overall, it is a bittersweet study of six individuals all coping with lost love in one way or another. Bravo.