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Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Good movie but grossly overrated

A Masterpiece!

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Told through a mixture of old Japanese culture and contemporary film- making, the three separate love stories overlap and interweave cleverly but subtly, too.Without any sullying from saccharine sweetness or melancholy, all three tales strain the credibility of what we would normally think a person's love for another would go to. But, that's the beauty - this is a dream- felt movie, exaggerating hardship and our emotions to emphasise that extraordinary bond that love can be.It's all interconnected by symbolisms and the extraordinary cinematography of Katsumi Yanagijima has us shimmering and floating in rose gardens, amongst autumnal leaves and under cherry-tree blossom. It is here that we take breath and sigh, after the often difficult human journeys we've just seen the characters go through. We cannot help but feel that we have journeyed with them - and perhaps suffered too.To me, it's the first story of the jilted bride who's rejection sends her insane and the subsequent redemption and dedication from her boyfriend to the extent that they become homeless that it the most moving. Their story united the other two stories and adds symbolism at the end. The tale of the ageing Yakuza who finally feels that he needs more than his violent lifestyle to exist as a human being and the fanaticism for a young pop singer also paint vivid pictures on Japan's social and cultural agenda.It did remind me of south Korea's 'Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter...' in that often idyllic and contemplative gestures and activities are interspersed with morally questioning random acts that leave cavities in people's lives and the atonement needed to rectify them; or at least to try to, in a soul-satisfying way.

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.

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.

I saw this movie late last night and while I saw only one hour of it, I liked it very much. It is a great film.There is a lot of silence in the movie but it works. In the tradition of the French film, Friday Night, it is a movie without dialogue that delivers.On top of that it is just a nice movie in terms of nature and visuals. It is story of love, no violence, profanities, heroics, or sex or clichés. The photography is wonderful, that scene of the couple walking through the snow beneath the lamp really stuck with me. Our subjects are in fact tragic heroes, giving it a degree of realism. Two of the stories end in tragedy, while the third is bitter sweet. It should also be said that though the characters do not say much they are largely sympathetic. They just want to stay with or be with the ones they love.I might also add that the women in this film are just so pretty and petite.Can't say much but this is great good movie.9 out of 10. Nice work Kitano and cast.