Thanks for the memories!

Simply A Masterpiece

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I watched this film without any reference to reviews or even a knowledge of the director beforehand. Just plunged in. The puppet sequence that starts the movie tells you there's tragedy ahead, but also a poignancy. Then the narrative shifts to the main story, about a young couple in love but for whom family and business split apart. For a time. But the truth is there's no one else ever for either one of them, and while this sounds clichéd, it somehow works. I think it's because of the pacing and layering. The director doesn't push any obvious buttons - in fact, there were times when I saw these two damaged people together in these really slow scenes where not a whole lot is happening that I wondered if I wanted to go the duration of the film with them. And just at about that time the second story weaves in, about an again executive who remembers a young woman who loved him uncritically and unconditionally, but who he selfishly dumped because he wanted to focus all his attention on making money. The third storyline is about a man smitten by a pop music princess, and again this would seem to stray into cliché territory, but the way it's handled is done so sympathetically that you never feel the man is a buffoon; he's childlike and uncomplicated, but at the same time he's not a simpleton. Interwoven with these secondary stories is the main plot, with the "bound beggars", as they're known to the locals. And by the time the movie is about 3/4 done you realize that your patience is mirrored by the man's patience for his damaged girlfriend, and you start to care about them both. There's a scene late in the film which is done in total silence that is completely breathtaking. I'll never forget it. Let it wash over you.

Kitano never fails to amaze me, and this movie is an exact epitome of the queer nature of his films. This movie is a collection of three love stories intersecting in the same time-line. The nature of love stories quite different from one-another and each one has a different essence to it.First story is about a young couple, second story is about fan-idol love and the third one is about an unrequited love. All of these stories are somber and moving, and are not as mushy as typical love stories of Hollywood.Cinematography in the film is awesome. There many long shots, which again is kind of Kitano's signature. Performance of the actors is quite good. Background score is beautiful and perfectly coherent with the scenes. The use of a puppet show in the movie is quite surreal and symbolic.If you liked "Amorres Perros"; you will definitely like this movie.A must watch for Kitano fans and those who admire subtle romance.

Visually one of the most outstanding films I've ever seen is the Japanese film 'Dolls'. My top favourite for last year's Intl Film Fest, this film says so much with just colours and its stunning cinematography. The film basically contains 3 different stories and it started with an arranged wedding. The groom ran away from it and visited his ex-girlfriend in the asylum who went mad when he was forced to marry into a rich family.There wasn't much dialogue between the 2 characters as they embarked on the most bizarre journey, with the female lead always in a daze that the male lead had to tie a red string on her hand to keep her from wandering off. 6 They walked thru spring, summer, autumn and winter all the while intersected with 2 other side stories. One is about a woman who waited for her lover since teenage years till she's about 40+, preparing bento lunch for him everyday and waiting for him at the park. He finally came one day but ….sigh….The next story is about a popular singer and her number 1 fan, the pretty girl got disfigured one day and her fan, in order to meet her, decided to blind himself with his last vision of her poster. Pretty strong love huh….We've reached winter and that's when the female lead finally remembers the guy and the scene was so heartwarming. She just cried and u can just feel their love after going through so much. Seasons transit in such way that they walk from red leaves to snow ground in a step, very beautifully done and the colour motif is splendid from bright red to pure white.**Magical Journey**

After this movie it's official:I'm fan of Takeshi Kitano.After movies like "Sonatine" and "Brother" I thought that Kitano always talks about same things.I was so wrong.When I watched "Dolls" I was surprised.This movie is so good that it left me speechless.Excellent story-telling from Kitano and I'm very glad that he did movie like this.I don't want to talk about the plot or about the characters because I don't think that words can describe this movie.If you like Almodovar's movies with lots of characters this movie is for you.So many characters and such a great performances from all actors.I don't know any of them but I bow to them after this movie.But without Kitano's talent non of this would happen.Excellent work from an excellent director.My applause to all who worked on this movie.Highly recommended. 10/10