Perhaps because of the performance of Haruna's popular idol, the third story is a bit poorly matched compared to the other two quiet and sad stories. However, the theme of giving, sacrifice, and overflowing love in the third story, as well as the irrational and unreasonable extreme behaviors that result from it, are shared by the three stories, and even in Kitano Takeshi’s script Said to be intertwined. The emotional description of the story can be more concentrated. The sad emotions of the whole film lasted until the final cast and crew appeared, accompanied by the gradually clear theme song music.
Aside from Joe Hisashi's syrupy score and some rather obvious symbolism, principal flaw is the protracted concluding stretch in which Sawako and Matsumoto drift through a winter landscape toward death, increasingly embodying the intercut Bunraku puppets that glide across the stage. Beautiful and plaintive as they are , these scenes push the director's approach of poetic austerity almost to exasperation and will try the patience of some audiences.
Putting aside Hisaishi’s greasy music and some more obvious symbolic images, the main shortcoming of the film is the procrastination of the ending. At the end, the two protagonists are gradually dying in the winter snow, and what is cross-edited is the stage performance of the dolls. Although these pictures are very beautiful and melancholic, they seem to push the director's poetic aesthetic concept to the extreme, and even test the audience a bit.
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117918652.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0
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"Dolls" moves with a deliberate pace. I have seen bunraku performances in Japan, and found them long, slow and stylized; the same can be said of the film. Kitano is not content to simply tell his stories, but wants to leave us time to contemplate them, to experience the passage of time for these characters and the way their choices will define them for the rest of their lives. The three active lovers in the film - Matsumoto, the woman, and the fan - willingly sacrifice their freedom and happiness in acts of romantic abnegation. Such gestures seem odd in the modern world, but not in classical tragedy, not in bunraku, and not in the Japanese tradition of dramatic personal gestures.
The rhythm of "Doll" seems to be relaxed. The author once saw doll performances in Japan, and found them to be long, slow, and very formal. This film also has the same characteristics. Kitano is not satisfied with telling his stories, but gives the audience time to think about these stories, experience the time passing by these characters and the decisions they make that affect the rest of their lives. The active characters in the three love stories in the film-Matsumoto, the woman who makes lunch, and the fans-are willing to sacrifice their freedom and happiness indulgently. In modern society, such behavior seems incredible, but it is true in classical tragedies, it is true in the story of doll performance, and it is true in the traditional Japanese dramatic personality.
The film has moments of great loveliness. Some of the landscapes, filled with autumn leaves of astonishing shades of red, are beautiful and lonely. The film is about three people who have unhappiness forced upon them, and three others who choose it. "Dolls "isn't a film for everybody, especially the impatient, but Kitano does succeed, I think, in drawing us into his tempo and his world, and slowing us down into the sadness of his characters.
There are some intense moments of loneliness in the film. Those red landscapes filled with autumn leaves are so beautiful and lonely. This film tells about three people who have suffered misfortune, and also about three other people who choose to suffer misfortune. The film "Doll" is not suitable for everyone's taste, especially those impatient audiences. But I think Kitano’s success lies in that he introduced us into his narrative rhythm and his world, slowing us down, and experiencing the tragedy of his role.
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050203/REVIEWS/50127003/1023
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