Matsumoto (Hidetoshi Nishijima) and Sawako (Miho Kanno) are literally tied to each other in Takeshi Kitano’s DOLLS
DOLLS (DORUZU) (Takeshi Kitano, 2001)
Japan Society
333 East 47th St. at First Ave.
Friday, March 23, $12, 7:30
Series runs through April 18
212-715-1258
www.japansociety.org
office-kitano.co.jp
Takeshi Kitano, who is best known for such violent films as Sonatine, Brother, and Zatoichi, has also made family dramas and romances as well (Kikujiro, A Scene at the Sea), and Dolls might be his most emotional, introspective picture to date. Dolls opens with a Bunraku puppet theater excerpt from Monzaemon Chikamatsu’s The Courier for Hell before delving into the dark story of Matsumoto (Hidetoshi Nishijima) and Sawako (Miho Kanno). Matsumoto dumps Sawako so he can marry the boss’s daughter, but when Sawako tries to kill herself and ends up in a mental hospital, Mastumoto decides to take care of the speechless, frightened shell of a woman she has become. He leads her through the seasons, tied to her by a red cord, a pair of bound beggars. Two subplots, which we’re not sure were absolutely necessary, also deal with love and loss, obsession and desire. Joe Hisaishi’s music is gorgeous, as is Katsumi Yanagijima’s cinematography. Kitano, who wrote, directed, and edited Dolls, mixes in sensational colors to balance out black-and-white tuxedos or long patches of snow: You’ll be mesmerized by the red rope, a purple-and-black butterfly, Sawako’s pink child’s toy, a glowing blue bridge, Matsumoto’s bright yellow car, a green public phone, a blue drink, twirling pinwheels, a shockingly blue umbrella, a park filled with cherry blossoms, and Yohji Yamamoto’s sparkling costumes. The film is bleak, slow-paced, and heart-tuggingly pure, a rewarding experience that will stay with you for a long time. Dolls is screening March 23 as part of Japan Society’s “Sakura — Spring Renews, Beauty Blooms” festival, which also includes such films as Nagisa Oshima’s Taboo, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Hana: The Tale of a Reluctant Samurai, and Hiroshi Inagaki’s The 47 Loyal Ronin.