Air Doll Review
Air Doll is a 2009 feature film directed by Hirokazu Koreeda.
A film that questions what it means to be human while also exploring the true wonderment of the world around us, Air Doll, contains moments of utter joy and sheer heartbreak throughout.
A piece of true art from the same director who would go on to give us classics such as Still Walking and Shoplifters. It will be no surprise that if you enjoyed either of those films, you will find a lot to love here.
From the gorgeous visuals to the amazing acting, there is a lot to take in. While not everything lines up perfectly, it is still a treat to see a film reach for so many big philosophical questions all at once.
This story is, of course, an adaptation of the manga series Kuuki Ningyo by Yoshiie Goda, which makes sense when you really start to see the number of characters that are involved in the plot. This leads to the one big flaw of the film in trying to balance all the side stories our titular “Doll,” is involved in. Even the most astute viewer will have a hard time keeping track.
Each of these side stories doesn’t exactly pay off meaningfully either, with a lot of uncertainty at the conclusion of the film. There is a very face value moment at the end of the film which is reminiscent of something like the ending of Donnie Darko, quickly cycling through everyone involved to this point, but it feels rushed in many ways.
This will always be where print media, like a manga or book, will have an enormous advantage. To that end, even a television series as well. They all have the ability to really break down the smaller details of these relationships to give us a more rounded conclusion by the end.
Overall, though, Air Doll is certainly worth your time and takes a lot of risks in the different stories it is trying to tell. It doesn’t get everything perfect, but it is still an engrossing film from start to finish.
Dekanalog Website
Cheers!
Daniel Hess
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