Synopsis
Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.
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Cast
- Miho KannoSawako
- Hidetoshi NishijimaMatsumoto
- Tatsuya MihashiHiro
- Chieko MatsubaraRyoko
- Kyoko FukadaHaruna Yamaguchi
- Tsutomu TakeshigeNukui
- Kayoko KishimotoHaruna's Aunt
- Nao OmoriMatsumoto's Colleague
- Kanji TsudaYoung Hiro
- Yuko DaikeYoung Ryoko
- 83
Entertainment Weekly
As an exception to the norm, Kitano doesn't appear this time, confining himself merely to writing, directing, and editing. - 80
Film Threat
The cinematography is stunning, particularly where Matsumoto and Sawoko walk through the four seasons of life. - 75
New York Post
Lush and poetic, Dolls proves once again that Kitano is one of the world's most original filmmakers. - 70
Variety
Despite an excessively meandering final act, the drama's three intertwined stories have a cumulative impact, their affecting sadness matched by meticulously composed visual poetry. - 70
The New York Times
With some staggeringly beautiful photography of cherry blossoms and scarlet autumn leaves, Dolls is so enthralled with its own cinematography that it can't bear to edit itself, and during the autumn and winter segments of the bound beggars' journey, it almost reaches a standstill. - 70
Los Angeles Times
The movie's pace is appropriate to its mood, which is crisp, melancholy and gently cruel. - 63
New York Daily News
Rife with beautiful imagery and loads of symbolism, though none of the stories is particularly compelling on its own. - 60
TV Guide Magazine
Whether this measured exercise in romantic melancholy moves you to tears or bores you to them is probably a matter of personal susceptibility to the sting of bitter regret for love lost.