Dolls

Possibly the most inaccessible of Kitano's films for a Western audience, Dolls draws on the traditional Japanese theatre of Bunraku for its look as well as its core themes. Kitano was inspired by the idea of lovers' suicide in the work of Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Japan's answer to Shakespeare. He takes the central preoccupations of classical tragedy - love and death - and refracts them through a modern medium.

Dolls is unconventional, by normal cinematic standards; it doesn't follow a three act structure and more closely resembles a stage play in many ways, as a series of interwoven vignettes. It's philosophical, but economical with it; there is very little in the way of exposition - the film is ripe with symbolism, but Kitano allows the viewer to make their own connections. A lot of the symbolism of Dolls is uniquely Japanese - the four distinct seasons, cherry blossoms and falling leaves denoting fragility (of the lives and the sanity of the protagonists), the red cord that ties the 'bound beggars' a reference to a Japanese saying about married couples being bound at the fingertips by red string. There are also invisible strings - tying together the tragic fates of disparate characters, guiding their actions and chance meetings - strings pulled deftly by Kitano, as director and puppet master.

Not an easy film - slow-paced and somewhat disjointed - I can well imagine it being dismissed as pretentious or a mere exercise in aesthetics (the cinematography is exquisite throughout), but as a piece of magical realism, a very personal take on traditional Japanese theatre and philosophy, Dolls is unique. It adds to Kitano's impressive oeuvre, underscoring his growing range as a filmmaker.

ドールズ
Dir. Takeshi Kitano, 2002