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Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.
Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.
Dolls is a deeply aesthetic and philosophical exploration of love, loss, and devotion, presented through universal human experiences and traditional Japanese art forms. Its focus on the human condition and fate, rather than societal or political structures, renders it apolitical.
The film features an entirely Japanese cast, consistent with its cultural setting, and does not incorporate explicit racial or gender-based recasting. Its narrative explores themes of love and fate without engaging in critical portrayals of traditional identities or making DEI themes central to its story.
The film deeply integrates themes of fate, suffering, impermanence, and attachment, which resonate strongly with Buddhist philosophy. It portrays these concepts as fundamental aspects of the human condition, framing the characters' tragic journeys with a sense of profound, almost spiritual, beauty and inevitability.
Dolls is a triptych of visually striking, tragic heterosexual love stories. The narrative does not include any identifiable LGBTQ+ characters, relationships, or themes, resulting in no portrayal of queer identity within its storyline.
The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.
Dolls (2002) is an original film by Takeshi Kitano, featuring characters created specifically for this production. There are no pre-existing canonical or historical characters whose gender could have been altered.
Dolls (2002) is an original film by Takeshi Kitano, not an adaptation of prior source material with pre-established characters. All characters were created for this specific film, thus there is no basis for a race swap.
Combines user and critic ratings from four sources