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Dolls (film)
Encyclopedia
is a 2002
Japanese film
written, edited and directed by Japanese
director
Takeshi Kitano
. A highly stylized art film
, Dolls is part of Kitano's non-crime film
oeuvre, like 1991's A Scene at the Sea
, and unlike most of his other films, he does not act in it. The film has been praised for its cinematography
(Katsumi Yanagishima
) and features costumes by Yohji Yamamoto
.
These stories do have some incidental visual cross-over with each other in the film, but are mostly separate. The first story is the one the film centers on. The film leads into it by opening with a performance of Bunraku
theatre, and closes with a shot of dolls from the same. The performance is that of "The Courier for Hell
" by Chikamatsu Monzaemon
, and it alludes to themes that reappear later in the film. Because the rest of the film itself (as Kitano himself has said) can be treated as Bunraku in film form, the film is quite symbol
ic. In some cases, it is not clear whether a particular scene is meant to be taken literally. The film is also not in strict chronological order, but there is a strong visual emphasis on the changing of the seasons and the bonds of love over the progression of time (Matsumoto and Sawako spend most of the film physically connected by a red rope).
.
gives the film 75%, with 36 reviews. Metacritic
gives it 71 out of 100, with 16 reviews.
Japanese films of 2002
A list of films released in Japan in 2002 .-2002:-External links:* at the Internet Movie Database...
Japanese film
Cinema of Japan
The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...
written, edited and directed by Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano
is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...
. A highly stylized art film
Art film
An art film is the result of filmmaking which is typically a serious, independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience...
, Dolls is part of Kitano's non-crime film
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
oeuvre, like 1991's A Scene at the Sea
A Scene at the Sea
is a 1991 Japanese film written and directed by Takeshi Kitano.This movie was a break from previous Kitano fare in that it features no gangsters or police...
, and unlike most of his other films, he does not act in it. The film has been praised for its cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
(Katsumi Yanagishima
Katsumi Yanagishima
, also credited as Katsumi Yanagijima, is a Japanese cinematographer. He has worked with Takeshi Kitano in films like A Scene at the Sea, Sonatine, Zatoichi, Kids Return, Kikujiro, Dolls and others...
) and features costumes by Yohji Yamamoto
Yohji Yamamoto
Yōji Yamamoto , is an award winning Japanese fashion designer based in Tokyo and Paris. Yohji is considered to be among the master tailors whose work is thought to be of fashion genius and he has been described by Julie Gilhart, fashion director for Barney's New York as probably the only designer...
.
Plot
The film features three primary sets of characters, each within their own distinct story:- A young man (Matsumoto, played by Hidetoshi Nishijima) who rejects his engagement to his fiancée (Sawako, played by Miho KannoMiho Kannois a Japanese actress and J-Pop singer. Her nickname is Kanchan . She was born in Sakado, Saitama, Japan.- Biography :In 1992, Kanno made her debut as a member of a group called Sakurakko Kurabu Sakura Gumi after passing the orientation for the TV variety show Sakurakko Kurabu...
) to marry the daughter of his company's president. When his former fiancée attempts suicide and ends up in a semi-vegetative state, he takes her out of the hospital and they run away. - Another young man (Nukui, played by Tsutomu Takeshige) is obsessed with the pop-star Haruna (played by Kyoko FukadaKyoko Fukadais an actress and singer. In Japan, her name is sometimes contracted to the nickname Fukakyon. She won the award for Best Actress at the Yokohama Film Festival for Kamikaze Girls.- Career :...
); he blinds himself when she is involved in a disfiguring car accident. - An aged yakuzaYakuza, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
(Hiro, played by Tatsuya Mihashi), who tries to meet a girlfriend from his youth (played by Chieko Matsubara).
These stories do have some incidental visual cross-over with each other in the film, but are mostly separate. The first story is the one the film centers on. The film leads into it by opening with a performance of Bunraku
Bunraku
, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...
theatre, and closes with a shot of dolls from the same. The performance is that of "The Courier for Hell
The Courier for Hell
The Courier for Hell or Courier of Hell is a love-suicide play by Chikamatsu written in 1711. It follows a similar storyline to some of his other love-suicide plays, including The Love Suicides at Sonezaki and The Love Suicides at Amijima...
" by Chikamatsu Monzaemon
Chikamatsu Monzaemon
Chikamatsu Monzaemon was a Japanese dramatist of jōruri, the form of puppet theater that later came to be known as bunraku, and the live-actor drama, kabuki...
, and it alludes to themes that reappear later in the film. Because the rest of the film itself (as Kitano himself has said) can be treated as Bunraku in film form, the film is quite symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
ic. In some cases, it is not clear whether a particular scene is meant to be taken literally. The film is also not in strict chronological order, but there is a strong visual emphasis on the changing of the seasons and the bonds of love over the progression of time (Matsumoto and Sawako spend most of the film physically connected by a red rope).
Themes
The film and each of its vignettes revolve closely around the theme of death. It was Kitano's intent to show death as neither good nor bad but a relative event. In an interview, Kitano stated, "The reason why modern Japanese and Westerners loathe the notion of death so much is beyond me. There really is no reason to loathe death," adding, "How you perceive this film can considerably differ depending on the position where you stand."Soundtrack
All compositions by Joe HisaishiJoe Hisaishi
, known professionally as , is a composer and director known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981.While possessing a stylistically distinct sound, Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic,...
.
- "Sakura" 4:40
- "Pure White" 2:48
- "Mad" 4:55
- "Feel" 4:58
- "Dolls" 4:09
Reception
The film has positive scores in review aggregator websites. Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gives the film 75%, with 36 reviews. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gives it 71 out of 100, with 16 reviews.
External links
- Official website (JapaneseJapanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
) - Official Website U.S.