Director Takeshi Kitano is in mellow mood in this Japanese fable. Yes, there is a gangster, but he doesn't blow anyone away; nor are the cops robotic killing machines. The neighbourhood's yakuza boss is old, ailing and seeking his lost lady-love of other days.
Meantime, two young lovers shuffle past, as the autumn leaves drift down or the cherry-tree buds break into blossom, each yoked to the other by a length of cord around their waists.
Based on a legend of the bunraku puppet theatre, which performs a prologue to the modern story, Dolls is often a hard film for Western sensibilities to decipher. It is highly stylised.
Every now and then you imagine the story will find its footing in contemporary Japanese life - such as when the ambitious young man about to marry his rich employer's daughter gets a more spiritual call that causes him to break it off at the altar - but then the film slips back into symbol and parable with the ambulant couple wandering through the changing seasons to a tragedy that validates their mutual devotion.
Perhaps the best advice is, stop worrying about meaning. Sit back, enjoy its rich design, costumes, landscape and colours.
Dolls
Cert: 12A
