Jaime Rebolledo Dolls is a visual poem, a large haiku of three parts that walks across the four seasons. A beautiful movie that takes it's time to seduce us with suggestive images and touch us with both daily and transcendental situations. Takeshi Kitano, responsible for movies like Hana-bi and Zatoichi, decides to tell three stories simultaneously, charged with feelings and metaphors, subtleties, suggestive scenes and shots, and a strong and profound idea of the connection between all beings.An outstanding and beautiful movie, 3 depressing tales, everything connected by mysterious forces.

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.

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.

misc00500 I liked the story and the cinematography and the acting and so on an so forth like most everyone here..... but dang, all this talk about how "painfully beautiful and sad" the movie was just make me wanna throw up. I check the comment hoping someone can explain what the ending meant, but all i read is how beautiful and sad the movie is and how great kitano is. pss.. all that is great but freak... why can't someone just say what it means instead of all this artsy crap talk ? saw a few of kitano's movie. i have to say sonatine is pretty watchable. especially the part where the chick takes off her dress in the jungle. Saw a pretty amazing movie couple days ago called "stranger of mine". check it out you won't be disappointed.