Air Doll (2009)

Sorry, I can't think of a more non-generic title for this review. But the movie is indeed heart-warming, best executed by Koreeda who does so well in depicting stories of the heart. The plot itself is a bit unique: a doll that comes to life! But after watching the movie, I can say that there's more to that. There is SOUL in the movie, in reference to a supposedly "soulless" material that is the doll/mannequin.Bae Doo-na perfectly breathes life to an otherwise lifeless doll. She best performs the part of a reticent woman who tries to figure for herself if finding a "heart" is a good thing or not. I love the way she carries her face, that innocent, looking-for-answers, finding-my-worth-in-this-world-of-people look on her. Everything in the film falls into place. The cute jewelry-box background music, the aspect of one-sided love, and the journey of finding the meaning of "life" and having a "heart". The atmosphere and over-all feel of the movie is just so cute and lovely. But its simplicity is overshadowed by the bittersweet theme that I came to the realization that it was not as simple as it appears to be. Koreeda hit the mark on this one. He has produced a product that is both perfect on the content and the execution. The length and pacing was fine-tuned, what came out was a movie that has one of the most profound portrayal of love and loneliness in a film ever.

Once again, Koreeda Hirokazu puts the finger on his recurring topic: the insular lifestyle in urban Japan, and how interactions fail to achieve fulfillment.The premise of a sex doll coming to life may appear a bit irksome, but 'Air Doll' is Koreeda's most introspective film to date because he establishes a solitary principal character observing her surroundings. This allows for a somewhat analytical narrative comment which goes beyond an exclusive focus on Tokyoites. The deductions of the doll Nozomi could be well transmitted to postmodern society as a whole: love excludes ownership, submissiveness culminates in (self)destruction and abandonment, and there is no remedy for a human heart. Some of the lines by which these points are made seem truly unforgettable, such as when the doll's creator mentions that the only distinction between humans and dolls is that we are combustible, while they are non-combustible trash.As a result, 'Air Doll' is very philosophical and dark, maybe a bit exceedingly so. Yet the film doesn't ignore the humorous implications of an air doll coming to life, which makes for a few breaks in the simple story, as do a number of well-placed side characters. And the slow pace typical for Koreeda's films, plus wonderfully imaginative photography sum up to a thoroughly enjoyable and gratifying movie experience.

Koreeda Hirokazu's newest film "Kuki Ningyo AKA Air Doll" is a brilliant and sobering look at life, alienation and loneliness in modern society. Its fantastical story while unconventional delivers a powerfully emotional story that will certainly have a lingering effect on viewers. The story seems like the plot of a Japanese AV (Adult Video) or anime - a blowup sex toy one day miraculously comes to life after gaining a "heart/soul" (kokoro). Her owner is a lonely middle aged waiter named Hideo (Itao Itsuji) who lovingly talks to the doll whom he named " Nozomi" and thinks of her as his companion and lover. While Hideo is at work, Nozomi (portrayed by the talented Korean actress Bae Du-Na) ventures out into the real world with childlike curiosity and wonder. During one of her outings she encounters Junichi, a friendly video shop clerk (handsome fashion model turned actor ARATA/Iuchi Arata). It is love a first site and Nozomi decides to work for Junichi and his boss, Samezu (Iwamatsu Ryo). Nozomi's unbelievable naiveté and awkwardness doesn't seem to bother Junichi and he soon educates Nozomi on life and human interaction through foreign movies and TV. As Nozomi falls deeper into love for Junichi, she becomes more distant and colder to Hideo (who is oblivious to her adventures and newfound sentience). The bond with Junichi becomes even stronger when he discovers her secret and saves her life after Nozomi develops a gash in her body (causing air to escape from her body). However, Nozomi's happiness soon fades as fate deals her a number of setbacks and a tragic error in judgment soon shatters her life forever.While comparisons to Craig Gillespie's 2007 film "Lars and the Real Girl" (and perhaps even in a looser sense 1987's "Mannequin") are likely, "Air Doll" is more like a companion piece to that film and also goes beyond just dealing with a man's obsession with an artificial girl but explores the greater question of how people deal with loneliness and alienation. In fact amid Nozomi's quest to learn humanity, she encounters various people along the way who cope with loneliness in different ways (a senior who is at peace in the twilight of his life; a woman who tries in vain to regain her youth; a young woman who binges on food to fill her void; a refined woman who involves herself in every little aspect in her neighborhood). As in his previous films especially "Dare Mo Shiranai" and "Maboroshi" Koreeda has a knack at exploring the lives of ordinary people and creating drama out of the mundane and ordinary. The screenplay (adapted by Koreeda and based on Goda Yoshiie's short manga story "Goda Tetsukaku Dou - Kuki Ningyo/Goda's Philosophical Discourse - Air Doll") very much captures author Goda's quirky and satirical commentary on love and society but Koreeda adds in the human aspects and supplements the story with a remarkably touching look at love and humanity.Bae Du-Na's (Host, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) performance is endearing and lovely. Since her first Japanese film debut "Linda Linda Linda" Du- Na has become even more confident in her Japanese language abilities and is able to project likable girlish charm in her role as Nozomi. Du-Na tackles the role of Nozomi with impressive boldness (she appears naked in a good portion of the film)and yet she doesn't make Nozomi sleazy or dirty in the least and in fact portrays her in a almost childlike fashion. ARAKA is also good in his role but doesn't really bring much to the table other than being a nice guy character who is incredibly tolerant of Nozomi and all her bizarre quirks (his Jyunichi character doesn't even show any terror or shock at the site of Nozomi deflating in front of him or in the fact that Nozomi has an air tab in her bellybutton). Odagiri Joe (Shinobi, Tokyo Tower) who makes a cameo appearance as Sonoda, Nozomi's kindly manufacturer and "father" also puts in a great albeit short performance. When Odagiri's character asks Nozomi if she regrets gaining a soul, it is a touching and tearful scene.Much has been said of Taiwanese cinematographer Pin Bing Lee's (Flight of the Red Balloon; The Sun Also Rises) glorious and vibrant photography and indeed it is impressive. The film looks wonderful and has an almost fairy tale quality about it. "Air Doll" could have focused on the obsession with finding virtual and artificial love and the bizarre and perverted fascination with "Real Dolls" and other sex toys but thankfully Koreeda opted to instead focus on the loneliness and other human conditions that force humans into seeking love and affection however artificial. "Air Doll" is a reflective yet tragic story of a doll who somehow was blessed to find a soul but who ultimately fell victim to all the heartaches that came with it - ironic that while Nozomi was created to fill the void and sexual needs of others yet yet was ultimately unable to achieve that need herself.

Korean actress Bae Doo-na is superb in Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda's latest film Air Doll. Shown at the Vancouver Film Festival, Air Doll is based on the Japanese manga The Pneumatic Figure of a Girl and tells the story of a life-size inflatable doll used as a sex object for a lonely waiter who finds a heart and becomes a real person. The film is supported by the enchanting photography of Mark Lee Ping-bing who worked with Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wei in In the Mood for Love, and poetic images abound. When the film opens, Hideo (Itao Itsuji), returns from work as a waiter and begins a conversation about his day and everything seems normal until we discover that he is talking to a doll propped up in bed that he calls Nozomi, (the name of his former girl friend). Though she is a mannequin, he tells her about his life, gives her a bath, dresses her, and has sex with her each night.One morning, Nozomi (Bae Doo-na) wakes up and finds her heart and is transformed, at least as far as appearances are concerned, into an ordinary human being. Displaying the innocence of a child, Nozomi, dressed in a French chambermaid's uniform, goes out to explore the outside world and finds out what it means to be human (and how society treats women), picking up patterns of speech from neighbors, but comes home each night to resume her roll as the compliant inanimate doll for her master. Nozomi soon lands a job in a video store and quickly learns about movies though she has never seen one and develops a friendship with the attendant Junichi (Arata), while continuing to believe that her only function is to provide sexual pleasure.Promoting the idea that everyone is empty at their core and must be fulfilled by the companionship of others, Koreeda introduces a host of minor characters such as an old poet who feels betrayed by the world, the doll maker who created her, a woman fearful of being left alone, and a bitter old woman. Junichi abruptly learns about Nozomi's non-human status, however, when she falls and pricks her arm and all the air is drained out of her. In a very erotic scene, Junichi inflates her by blowing air into the plug in her stomach and their relationship is sweet. Nozomi discovers, however, that being half human and half doll is not fulfilling and wishes to become fully human but cannot find anyone to help her, turning to her maker (God?) for assistance.Air Doll is a sweet, sad fable about the loss of innocence and Bae Doo-na is funny and touching in the role of a childlike doll in the tradition of Pinocchio. While it is valuable to view the world from a childlike perspective and discover once again, for example, how beautiful the stars are, having a mannequin eventually become a mirror of humanity's dark side serves little purpose. Yes, life is ugly and beautiful, sad and full of joy, but this is hardly a revelation. The film, which took nine years from planning stages until completion, has important comments about alienation in the modern world, but at two hours the simple premise is stretched too thin. Koreeda makes the point repeatedly about the emptiness of humans, forgetting that cities are home not only to lonely, alienated, and empty people but to brilliant, fulfilled, and compassionate individuals who contribute much value to our world.