Air Doll (2009) User Reviews

A sweet, sad fable about the loss of innocence

[howard.schumann · 8/10 · 14 October 2009]

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.

The Death of Innocence

[naonak · 8/10 · 19 March 2010]

Hirokazu Koreeda takes a look into the abyss of Japanese society and paints a deeply disturbing but true picture of human beings who replaced their real lives into a state of mere existence. Solitude and emotional repression, ironically enough, in the country with one of the highest population densities and material goods ad infinitum. A study of cultural constraints.

Our protagonist (Du-Na Bae), masterfully chosen, is the newest excretion in the line of goods to blow some of that sexual steam off: an air doll with a washable rubber vagina. Her owner (refreshingly serious comedian Itsuji Itao), a lonesome waiter uses her as a substitute for a girlfriend, bathes, talks and of course - has sex with her. One day she awakes and discovers that she has grown a soul and begins her first tiny steps in a hostile world, without any prejudice or knowledge of the environment surrounding her. First enthralled and joyful to find all those wonders of life, she is soon crushed by the empty bitterness of people. A fallen Amélie, powerless before the unloving societal apparatus.

In Japan, there is a socially acknowledged system which consists of the Tatemae (homogenous, polite, superficial and carefully considered not to break in one's boundaries) and the Honne (one's "real" personality/ intentions). This seemingly schizophrenic social obligation produced monsters in industrialized 21st century Japan and this film shows us some of their victims. Live your lives! Be you! Appreciate the little things! Talk to people!, although slowly paced, the pictures flickering on the screen seem to shout in your face. What may sound ridiculous and hard to understand for American/European audiences, Japanese reality needs exactly those words.

Although I do not agree with some artistic choices on a personal level, I cannot stretch how much I agree with the message of this film. With increasing alienation and mistrust of people even in western societies, I am sure you can pick something up for yourself, look over frontiers and "crazy japs sticking their dicks in plastic wtflulz!!1". Definitely worth your while.

Hauntingly beautiful film

[Koyama22 · 8/10 · 30 March 2010]

In short: A deep, thought-provoking, beautifully filmed, and well acted piece of Japanese cinema. Bae Doona is magnificent as an inflatable doll that develops a soul and falls in love. Hirokazu Koreeda wows once again with his deliberate film making, effectively commenting on social problems dealing with urban life. Despite the fact that it is a bit slow and a bit long, Air Doll is definitely one of the better films that I've seen recently.

I was finally able to watch this film (on DVD) and was impressed, more so than I thought I would be. To me, Air Doll includes aspects that make it attractive to both film festivals and commercial audiences. With the quirky and interesting premise of a sex doll that comes to life, Air Doll (which is lightly based on a manga) establishes itself as a film which seeks to appeal to modern audiences, specifically Japanese. This doll, "named" Nozomi (played by Korean actress Bae Doona), sneaks out of her owners house every day to go to work at a local video store. There, she falls in love with her coworker, Junichi (played by Arata), and learns about life--both the good and the bad.

What separates Air Doll from some of Koreeda's previous work is his choice of Mark Lee as cinematographer. He films the city of Tokyo beautifully, with long, gorgeous tracking shots. This is a departure from Koreeda's usual style, of which films like Nobody Knows and Still Walking are good examples (both being pretty un-commercial). I enjoyed the cameo's by some well-established actors, including Odagiri Joe as the doll maker, Susumu Terajima as a police officer, and Kimiko Yo as an aging woman obsessed with looking young, although they were definitely not noteworthy performances. I also enjoyed the music, which moved along with the pace of the film and effectively added emotional weight to select scenes.

Where I thought the film faltered was in length. It was too long, which is not a completely horrible fault in many cases, but towards the end I felt as if Koreeda had already established his point and needed to wrap it up. Length is a characteristic problem in many contemporary Japanese films. I feel as if this works for some (Love Exposure !?), but not for most. Another fault that I'd like to mention was the odd, Jdrama-like breaks in the scene where Nozomi is being repeatedly drained of air, then blown back up by Junichi in bed. The same shot was shown three times from different angles, which I found unnecessary and out of place. But that's just me being picky.

Air Doll attempts to illustrate to the viewer the loneliness that exists in an urban environment such as Tokyo. He does this perfectly with the inclusion of small side stories; a nerdy otaku, a lonely old man, an aging woman obsessed with beauty, a bulimic woman suffering from depression, and other lonely people. These characters only briefly appear on the screen, giving the impression of the fleeting encounters with strangers in a big city urban environment. Bae Doona's character of the doll, Nozomi, is the highlight of the movie. She plays the character perfectly, often condensing many emotions into one and displaying all of the quirkiness of a doll that has recently discovered life. It is interesting and perfect that Koreeda cast a Korean in the roll of the doll, as it further alienates the character from the rest of the cast as well as the audience. It is also interesting to note the fact that Bae Doona was very naked during the film (being a sex doll and all), a feat that not many Japanese actresses would even dare to do. She has been nominated for--and won many--awards for best actress.

--John Kincaid @ jkfilmjapan.wordpress.com/

Koreeda's newest is a touching and somber portrait of loneliness and life

[jmaruyama · 7/10 · 27 March 2010]

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.

Meditations, reflections, magical realism, lyricism. {Hirokazu Koreeda}

[Stanley-Becker · 9 February 2011]

In the early 70's I used to wander in and out of sex shops in Soho London. One of the high-ticket objects that always caught my eye was the rubber blow-up dolls labelled "sailors help". I always tried to imagine a lonely sailor having sex with this travesty of an imaginary woman. What particularly puzzled me was:- "how is the doll more satisfying than masturbation with the hand?". I concluded that all its contrivance was superfluous, and that those that used the doll, must need to create a highly complex artificial world. Koreeda's movie,

• which I viewed exactly forty years since I last looked at a "sailor's help", features certain technological advances - the skin tones are more life-like and the latex is less rubbery, the hair and make-up is more convincing - apart from these minor alterations its the same old dumb doll.

Koreeda, whose poetic imagination is different to mine, wondered about many magical and profound possibilities, when he encountered his first sex doll. I can only analyze these from a Western point of view. A Chef is portrayed interacting with his doll. Apart from the sexual act, in which we are introduced to the snap in, snap out, washable vagina, we are made privy to his affection and warm intimacy with his inanimate doll. All his emotional needs are fulfilled in his totemization of his latex goddess. What gives the doll life is the "blow job" he regularly gives the doll, in the inflation process. This introduction is well acted and convincing.

Then, the fairy tale begins, as the doll is, in the Ancient Egyptian manner, transformed with "pneuma" into a living being. How is she different? Well for one her breasts change from the usual silicone bag shape {the ubiquitous Hollywood look} to a natural form of great beauty - this "live" doll is a magnificent apparition of womanly grace and archetypal form - she's not big, brash and in your face, but, instead she has a bird-like elegance, that lovers of the nude, will find breathtaking {at least I did}. The fairy tale now progresses into a portrait of what this beautiful woman , who is still a doll, but is also a gorgeous woman, will experience in a world of intense emotional discipline. The Tokyo setting is appealing and the music has a wind up clock, musical box feel, {imagine a twirling ballerina accompanied by the Nutcracker Suite on top of a musical box}. This is very effective and calls ones attention to the mechanical in the doll.The director Koreeda ponders about the realities of urban Tokyo life with its density and its order. The life of the libidinous search for sexual gratification is controlled by the harmless sublimation of sexual energy into the doll {with its washable vagina} reminiscent of the condom, - especially the female condom, the femidom.

The "living doll" has many adventures dressed {in fashionable Tokyo style}, or amazingly in the nude, as the slow, but, beautiful movie lets you see her evolution into a fully-fledged womanhood. Here we come to the genius of this movie, which is the erotocization of "air". It all makes logical sense that the air doll is turned on by air. Her tumescence and detumescence is a pneumatic event , while humans have blood running through their veins, the doll has air. These sexual scenes portraying her sexuality, illustrating the strength of her intake and the weakness of her air loss. It is so resonant of so much that is human, that, it is nothing short of dazzling.

The Japanese samurai tradition {see Paul Schrader's Mishima} is confirmed in the fetish of the belly-button, {solar plexus}, and the seppuku ending, with the doll trying to reach her lovers life, through the vestige of his umbilical cord.

I am not sure whether I have done this lyrical, poetic inspiration justice, but it certainly is a touching paean to human frailty and the "doll" is an awesome vision to behold. She gives a moving performance in a difficult role to pull off convincingly. The director must be congratulated {with his cinematographer} for an intelligent excavation of the difference between feeling and lack of feeling. This movie will appeal to both genders as it navigates uncharted waters in the field of the human psyche. An exhilarating experience that lives on way after the curtain closes.

A living doll

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 28 August 2011]

Hideo, a waiter for a restaurant, lives a lonely existence. He does not appear to have any friends with whom to meet, but he concentrates all his attention in Nozomi, an inflatable doll that is designed for people like him. It is a sexual toy which gives him the comfort, and release, he would have to pay by visiting a 'real' person, a prostitute who will provide what Nozomi gives him freely.

The waiter's universe is centered in his small apartment in an unfashionable part of Tokyo, far from the glitter and noise from more affluent areas. One day, when Hideo is away at work, Nozomi wakes up. Taking small steps she goes to the window. It has been raining, so she feels the rain drops that have accumulated. The sensation, is something she has never experienced.

Nozomi feels as though a new life has been injected to her body. She intuits she suddenly has a heart. Observing the life outside her modest dwelling inspires to go on. She meets a father with a young daughter, a woman with eating disorders, an old man at a park overlooking the water, but it is Junichi, the clerk of a video shop that captures her imagination. Junichi has a secret of his own and he identifies with Nozomi immediately.

Nozomi feels betrayed when she returns home to find a substitute in Hideo's bed. She is not as important anymore. She decides to track down the man who made her. When she does, she is in for another surprise. The doll maker is blunt in telling Nozomi what is basically his belief and what he hopes to accomplish by making the dolls. Eventually, losing Junichi, Nozomi's life is not worth living. She ends up among the discarded bags of garbage that are not recyclable.

An interesting parable by Japanese Hirokazu Kore-eda, who wrote the screenplay based on a manga by Joshile Goda. The film examines the empty lives of people in a society like the Japanese where spending something like 5,700 yen in the purchase of the doll for sexual gratification is something not too far fetched. In a city of such large population, Tokyo must be a place where individuals without social skills can be ostracized from the mainstream, which seems to be the theme behind the story. Although a bit long, the film surprises in the way the subject matter is treated.

Best of all is Doona Bae, whose intelligent approach to Nozomi shows an actress with an amazing range who transform in front of our eyes becoming a woman. Arata and Itsuji Itao are good as Junichi and Hideo. The film kept reminding this viewer of another American film about the same subject, 'Lars and the Real Girl', which had a different tone, but dealt with a man that falls in love with an inflatable doll, something that does not happen in this picture.

Move Thee Reviews: A Fractured Fairy Tale about Soulless City Life

[ken1848 · 10/10 · 30 October 2009]

Air Doll is a poetic, unhurried, beautifully shot and poignant movie which may remind you of Lars and the Real Girl, Artificial Intelligence, Enchanted, Cyborg She, Pinocchio and Toy Story, yet it distinguishes itself by its poetic quality and focus on the emptiness of city life.

Indeed, city dwellers resemble sex dolls. Lacking souls and uniqueness, they can be easily substituted by others. Nozomi's sex with three different men exploiting her and treating her as a substitute is one of the examples. Degrading themselves by treating each other as functional objects, they will be forgotten once they become useless. A dead person therefore is depicted as a piece of garbage.

Moreover, some city dwellers prefer to live alone and sometimes they feel lonely. The movie reminds us that humans should have companions. DVDs gradually replacing cinemas also indicates that people nowadays prefer solitude.

Apart from these, city slickers value money and sex more important than soul and love. For instance, a man prefers an air doll to a real woman and even a little girl prefers a ring to a doll given by her mother.

Despite the gloomy atmosphere, the movie reminds us of the cycle of life which consists of not only downs, but also ups. Although plants wither in winter, they grow in spring. Perhaps we should learn from Nozomi who tries to appreciate every moment of happiness, be it fleeting or lasting, for instance, gazing at stars and even a raindrop, admiring the breathtaking scenery in the city, embracing a man she has a crush on while riding on a motorcycle, etc. Indeed, Nozomi is already happier than other real human characters in the movie.

Starring as an inflatable sex doll with a soul, Korean actress Doona Bae (The Host, Linda Linda Linda) gives a convincing and dazzling performance in this Japanese movie. The audience will be amazed by every nuance of her expressions / movements and the daring naked scenes.

The renowned Taiwan cinematographer Mark Ping-bing Lee (In the Mood for Love) succeeds in capturing the mood of this lonely city by often panning his camera slowly to observe loners. The dreamlike music by World's End Girlfriend also adds much purity, mystery and melancholy to this fractured modern fairy tale.

Although the plot would become more substantial if other minor characters were further developed, they help illustrate how lonely and alienated humans are.

After seeing this haunting movie, one may leave the cinema with a heavy heart and a deep sigh, trying to feel one's long-lost soul and pondering on the meaning of ephemeral life.

Hirokazu Koreeda is one of my favorite directors and his previous movies like Maborosi, Nobody Knows and Still Walking are highly recommended.

the return of ARATA

[fundaquayman · 7/10 · 6 May 2010]

With each of Kore-eda's new films, he tries new topics and/or narrative approaches. This film reminds me less of his previous work and more of Michel Gondry's short film that's a part of the TOKYO!(2008) compilation (a collection of 3 films with the topic being the city of Tokyo directed by three directors - Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, & Bong Jun-Ho).

Unlike some of his previous films that had connections with "family" and "memories" (AFTERLIFE, DISTANCE, NOBODY KNOWS, MABOROSI, & STILL WALKING), AIR Doll also connects but focuses on Losses - not about loved ones passing away, but the lost of values and feelings that make us human. In a much more surreal narrative compared to his previous realite approaches to story-telling (HANA being the exception as he was trying to dabble with comedy and period-pieces), AIR DOLL's story is dark and fairy-tale like. As usual the cinematography is perfect and appropriate for the story he is telling, and Kore-eda in this case works with Taiwanese DP Lee Ping-Bing to bring some of the most beautiful visuals and colors to each and every scene - the close-ups utilizing soft spot-focus are good enough to be used as Leica advertisements.

While the subject matter to AIR DOLL could have treaded onto "hentai" territory, Kore-eda keeps it in its surreal context and what results is a reflection on how we all are lost in a time where we also have all our material needs satisfied as substitutes to the valuable things in life we no longer have.

It's great to see the enigmatic Arata returning to a Kore-eda film (as always, his characters almost always come across as the alter-ego to the director), and Kore-eda again shows his love of the movies. I had no idea he actually liked THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY.

My favorite of Kore-eda's work still being THE AFTERLIFE, DISTANCE, and NOBODY KNOWS, but AIR DOLL is a bold attempt for Kore-eda, showing he can break the mold and continue on his journey of bringing new ideas to the film medium. Kore-eda and Kiyoshi Kurosawa are no doubt two of Japan's most talented filmmakers today.

Very sad and innocent film about a blow-up sex doll come to life.

[sitenoise · 9/10 · 19 June 2010]

If you're thinking: "Oh, those wacky Japanese. A movie about a blow-up doll who, keenly aware that her function is to provide sexual pleasure, comes to life. That'll be fun!", you will be surprised, if not disappointed, by this film. Du-na Bae does a few scenes in her birthday suit, and spends most of the rest of the film in cute little outfits with very short skirts—one of them being the maid's uniform you see in the poster—but there isn't much that's erotic, let alone prurient, about this film at all. It's sad and melancholy. And innocent.

There are three things that contribute to the superbity (yep, I'm going with it) of this film. The first is the cinematography by Mark "Pin Bing" Lee. Remember that name. If he's the director of photography on a film, you can count on it at least looking good. The second is the soundtrack by World's End Girlfriend—which is actually just one guy who specializes in other-worldly noise experiments with hints of jazz and classical. His work here creates a hip, contemporary, and dreamlike atmosphere, and since this is a film about the emptiness and isolation of modern life, it's a good thing. The third contributing factor is the masterstroke of casting Du-na Bae as the Air Doll. It's hard to think of another actress who could have made such a success of the role. Bae is a fearless, talented, versatile actress and she also somewhat looks the part with her large expressive anime inspired eyes. She's also Korean, giving her a head-start playing a fish out of water in this Japanese film. There are few actors who can convincingly run through a range of several emotions in a matter of seconds without moving a muscle in their faces. Bae is one of those actors, and she does it often.

The film starts right off with the Air Doll inexplicably "finding a heart" and coming to life. She sneaks out during the day, while her owner is at work, to discover the world and its characters. She gets a job at a video store and when one day she accidentally cuts herself, and starts losing air instead of bleeding, a co-worker who seems completely non-plussed by the event puts a piece of tape on the tear and blows her back up. They fall in love. If there is one sexy scene in the film, in a sort of convoluted way, it's when the two "make love". The guy wants to take off the tape and watch her lose air and then watch her re-animate by blowing her up again. When the Air Doll wants to do the same by cutting the guy, things don't turn out as she expects. Bae plays the scene in a very convincing way.

Air Doll has a slow pace and a number of characters seem to just float by without explanation but when it's all over they will have made sense. The central conceit of the film doesn't hold up to scrutiny if you think about it too much so if any of these kinds of things bother you, take a pass. There is also an extended scene where the Air Doll meets her maker. The director seems to have wanted to use this meeting to explain the film, "Aren't we all just empty vessels"? Although the scene is a touching one, I could have done without it, not only because it would have tightened up the film, but also because I don't like it when directors make beautiful films and muck them up with verbal explanations of what they are trying to present metaphorically.

the best and worst of Koreeda. Again

[LunarPoise · 4/10 · 11 September 2013]

An inflatable sex doll acquires a soul and wanders off to explore what people are really like. At first she feels different because she is empty, but she comes to discover that human beings, too, are empty.

That's pretty much all this film has to say, but it takes a very long time to say it. Some may say the lyricism, visual poetry, episodic delight and elegiac moments are reward enough. Personally, I found the lack of narrative coherence and complexity crushing. There is no philosophical exploration here, unless you consider on-the-nose dialogue about the fleeting nature of existence and our Godless mortality philosophy. The lack of character differentiation - everyone is lonely, maudlin, mildly misanthropic - makes the narrative progression flat and laboured.

The film most closely resembles Koreeda's Maboroshi. Both films feature outstanding performances from female leads (Bae Doo-na being more expressive than Esumi) displaced from their usual realm and facing existential crisis. Both films have gorgeous imagery. Both films take too long to convey very little. Still Walking is Koreeda at his finest. The cruelty, humanity, wicked humour and scalpel-like dissection of human interaction portrayed in that film are all absent here.

Far too self-aware as art house and lacking any motivation for the characters, the film itself ends up being the very theme that it intends to explore - soulless.

A Nutshell Review: Air Doll

[DICK STEEL · 9/10 · 22 August 2010]

Writer-director Kore-eda has a strong fanbase in Singapore after his well-received Nobody Knows garnered him quite the following from a screening here years back. No sooner than the festival's tickets had gone on sale that it registered its first sell-out session in Air Doll, and two other subsequent repeat screenings released had all its tickets already snapped up. Either that, or the appeal of watching a sex doll come to life under Singapore's R21 rating uncut is too hard to pass up. I had that opportunity to partake in a masterclass session with Kore-eda during last year's Tokyo International Film Festival where three of his films got screened overnight with the director and his guests in attendance, but alas I wasn't in top form to have covered it. I'm regretting it now.

The other film I had watched with a sex doll featured prominently in the story was Craig Gillespie's Lars and the Real Girl starring Ryan Gosling, where his character bought a custom made sex doll over the internet not for sex, but for companionship. Personally I've always thought it creepy for anyone to own a doll to interact with and yikes, to make love to, and here even christening it Nozomi. But as a character in Air Doll puts it, a real life relationship may be too hard for some folks to handle because it comes with inevitable problems, warts and all. And yes while that's the truth, I still can't fathom the necessity of owning a doll for sexual gratification, but I digress.

Kore-da's Air Doll is a fantasy film along the lines of Pinnochio, where an inanimate object comes to life and dreams of being a real boy. Here, it's all the more creepier when the air doll Nozomi suddenly without reason nor forewarning, starts to move on her own, and develops heart and soul through the course of the story. She doesn't need to yearn to be real, because she's almost real, utilizing clothing and makeup to conceal portions of her that are tell-tale signs that she's a life-sized made-of-plastic Barbie doll coming in the form of Korean actress Bae Doo-na (last seen in the Korean monster film The Host).

Bae brings her Nozomi a sense of that wide-eyed wonderment of the real world, and her performance as a plastic inflatable doll is flawless, with Nozomi constantly in amazement from the assault of the senses of sight, sound and touch. There's also a comedic innocence brought about through her zilch knowledge of the real world, which of course we'll expect this to be exploited by nastier humans, because the world is as evil as such, where innocence has no place once her honeymoon period is over. Balancing her routine very carefully with that of her owner Hideo's (Itsuji Itao) in order to enable her to work at a video store in the day, living an independent life undetected, and then being back at home on time to fulfill Hideo's sexual needs, things start to become a little more complicated when she develops feelings for her colleague Junichi (Arata).

Paced slowly to mirror Nozomi's journey of discovery of all things beautiful, from cosmetics to toddlers to that proverbial flower along the sidewalk, Air Doll contains a few scenes that provide that stark commentary about the emptiness of soul and the loneliness experienced in big city living. To Nozomi it's an abstract concept that she grasps only literally, but for the rest of us, we're likely to nod in agreement with the statements, since we're experiencing such feelings day in and day out. It is these episodes and incidents, through Nozomi's interactions with others that bring the film to life, and some of these can be as short as one self-contained scene like the one on the bus where she lends her shoulder to a sleeping man. It's all within our means to show a little compassion and to make the world a better place to live in.

While yet consumed with a pop kind of feeling throughout, and Kore-eda's most erotic film to date, the film is a meditation of life, and the fragility of it, where people are constantly in search of substitutes for things they cannot obtain to fulfill some need or want, which reflects quite well of our modern life where distractions are many, and substitution being a way of life from products to services. I absolutely loved how Kore-eda provided us scenes of satisfaction with a montage of lonely people doing simple things, to that switch later on with dissatisfaction with the same. It's a wonderful fantasy film that makes us reflect on our own parallels, but doesn't do so in a preachy way, instead relying on tragedy and especially comedy through the literal interpretation of things, to lighten the mood.

The science-fiction equivalent will be something like Spielberg's A.I., where a young robot embarks on a quest to find his mother and become a real boy This air doll has plenty of humanity inside her, full of soul and that never-ceasing innocent curiosity that makes it a delight to watch, maintaining touching aspects to tug at your heartstrings. I'm quite certain the audience who have snapped up tickets so eagerly won't be left disappointed.

Didn't work for me

[zetes · 5/10 · 30 May 2011]

A big disappointment. It comes from one of the world's finest director (among others he's made Nobody Knows, Mabarosi, After Life and Still Walking). It also stars one of the world's finest actresses, Bae Doo-na (The Host, Linda Linda Linda, Barking Dogs Never Bight, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Take Care of My Cat). To boot, it starts off fairly well. Bae Doo-na plays a blow-up doll who comes to life. Initially, she is absolutely fascinated with the human world and enjoys life to the fullest extent. Sure, it's not deep. Pretty much it's just Bae Doo-na walking around in a French maid outfit looking adorable. At worst, that's perfectly tolerable. Unfortunately, around the halfway point, the film changes from a goofy, fantastical romantic comedy to a ridiculously maudlin story of loneliness. Some of the plot twists are flat-out laughable, and the fantasy itself is fairly silly, but it's treated like this is the universe's greatest tragedy. Perhaps the fact that I had to watch the film in two sections made the change feel more abrupt (I'm definitely open to giving it a second chance someday), but, whatever the reason, the movie as a whole did not work for me.

A Nice Vice

[doctorsmoothlove · 6/10 · 18 June 2011]

Youth culture today is much like it was several generations ago in the early 20th century with one significant difference. We live in a more sexually relaxed society today, which is ironically less promiscuous than it was for young adults in the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Indeed, a higher percentage of children today reach their 19th and even 20th birthdays with their virginity than their parents did. It isn't uncommon, if you speak to this minority of young people, to hear outlandish, fantastical, or absurd descriptions of their ideal boyfriend/girlfriend or first sexual encounter. Childhood exposure to "sweet romance" films linger unhealthily and sabotage these older virgins. This is especially true in Japan, where depopulation is a serious social issue.

Hirokazu Koreeda's Air Doll is a film about this phenomenon, or I interpret it as one. Unfortunately, any review you read is going to be jaded by the film's abyss of ambiguity. A few of the director's intentions are identifiable, but a lot of it features the titular doll wandering about and experiencing her new human life. These segments are well-filmed and emotionally grounded in a generic childhood discovery theme, lacking the more interesting focal points of the director's other films. The viewer is thus left to apply cultural implications to the film for it to be more than pure cinema.

The air doll is an inflatable sex toy owned by a middle-aged man who calls her Nozomi and treats her as his girlfriend. They eat dinner together, walk through the park, and have sex all on his schedule, and he loves her a lot. Nozomi "realizes (she) has a heart" and wakes up one day when her master goes to work. She wanders around for a while, taking everything in, and visits a movie store. She begins working there and falls in love with one of her coworkers. More wonder sequences play, this time featuring the pair's almost-dialog free courtship. On paper it sounds mundane, but lead actress Bae Doona bolsters the emotionality of these scenes with her performance which is reminiscent of a Disney Princess role minus the artificial sentiment. The camera frequently grants us a close ups of her and her boyfriend, encouraging our intimacy with their romance.

Koreeda overtly references Disney's version of The Little Mermaid, specifically in Nozomi's observation of a girl who mistakes a fork for a comb. The girl's father tells her that a fork isn't for grooming, which becomes entwined with the narrative when Nozomi punctures herself. Her boyfriend "blows life into her" through her air hole, an indirect form of sexual expression, but Nozomi doesn't understand its implications. This reaffirms the latent misogyny of the many Disney films, where the woman character subtly confuses her psychological needs with those of society and her prince. A perfect conclusion follows: Nozomi stabs her boyfriend in his navel to breathe into him, and he bleeds to death. Her desire for mutual intimacy cannot be realized, and she suffers for it. In her grief, she throws herself in a trash heap.

Perhaps Air Doll can thus be seen as an encompassing metaphor for coming social collapse brought about by youth's (Japanese or otherwise) alienation from itself. Beyond the birth rate decline, people are more likely to encourage their perversions when they are entirely alone. Watching contrived romantic films only worsens an already vulnerable populace's efforts to get what it wants, at some level.

Recommended

Beautiful and full of philosophical

[denigmatic · 7/10 · 22 May 2022]

Air Doll is beautiful and full of philosophical thought to remind us how to view life and become human, Hirokazu Koreeda try hard to give viewer the messages that life is meaningful with all the flaw and emptiness that society bring. Bae Doona is perfect cast and maybe this is will be her acting magnum opus.

a Human Doll like all of us

[Radu_A · 9/10 · 17 April 2010]

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.

If only...

[ryoki-babi · 7/10 · 29 November 2013]

I really did enjoy this movie. I did but...

This movie followed one of the more popular themes in the Japanese movies I've seen: loneliness and unfulfillment/inadequacy. But it wasn't as deep. Sometimes I felt like I didn't even know what the characters were feeling or even why. Something was missing.

The thing about this movie that bothered me was that there were just so many missed opportunities to really reach home (I don't really know how else to say it.) The movie brings in many minor characters, all of which Nozomi has brief encounters with, to show you their loneliness. But why? Why show these extremely underdeveloped characters who we know near nothing about? Maybe if they had delved deeper in to their lives by increasing their interactions with Nozomi or by having them have "actual" interactions with her(like they had done with the one of the minor characters).

Nozomi also seemed a bit "flat" to me. Maybe this was on purpose? Either way, I wanted to see her grow more. She had gained a heart and she did not seem to have used it much. It was as if she was only half alive. She never cried, screamed or expressed any other emotions sans sadness, child like joy/wonder and there is more than that to being human. If they wanted viewers to understand/feel the loneliness that the characters were experiencing they should have built up the story more. Like was there even a climax?

Nevertheless, this was a good movie! If you are thinking of watching this please do! It was a cute and sad story.

A remarkable film

[christopher-underwood · 10/10 · 9 April 2021]

A remarkable film that asks questions and reflects about the nature of life and human interaction without seeming in the least preachy and retaining a featherlight touch despite the fundamental issues raised. Seoul born Bad Doona, a well established star of Korean film and TV features here and is unbelievably effective as a stunningly beautiful and pliant blow up doll that comes to life. Opening in a fairly predictable manner with an element of sordidness and the creaking of cold plastic this blossoms after only a few minutes into a unique experience as we are forced to constantly evaluate and re-evaluate actions and reactions. The city of Tokyo we see here would not be recognised by the casual tourist but instead presents an everyday side of the city with its side streets, corner shops and rental outlets. Filmed with immaculate care and visual flair this is not only a fascinating and cerebral feast but a visually stunning one with both interiors and exteriors made to look as excitingly wondrous as the young star herself.

Better Than Anticipated

[pdmc-23460 · 7/10 · 5 February 2017]

Hirokazu Kore-eda is probably my favorite contemporary Japanese director, but I have resisted watching Air Doll (2009) because it seemed like a silly film-a sex doll comes alive. But I should have known with a director like Kore-eda it's wouldn't be exploitative-in fact it was a poignant meditation on the preciousness of life. It also has the idea of finding the beautiful in the mundane that reminds me of American Beauty, much like the subplot of the showing the quiet lives of desperation lived by many people in the city. Bae Doona (Linda Linda Linda), feels right for the role since she is an outsider in the fact that she is Korean. She inhibits the erotic role of the surrogate sex doll with an innocence that feels appropriate for the film-it never feels exploitative, but natural. The film has a different visual look than the usual Kore-eda film which is due to the fact that his cinematographer for this film was cinematographer Ping Bin Lee (In the Mood for Love). It's nice to be surprised in a good way on occasion.

The air sort of went out of the movie prematurely...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 16 June 2013]

Having read nothing but good things about this movie, I decided to add it to my movie collection, so I purchased it from Amazon. And it was with a high amount of expectation that I sat down to watch the movie.

And now that I have seen it, I sit here with a somewhat disappointing taste in my mouth. The movie was not really all that great as it was hyped up to be. At least not in my opinion.

The story is about Nozomi, a blow-up sex doll, who comes to life and starts exploring the world taking in every single experience for the first time.

I will say that the storyline was interesting, but it just left too many plot holes open and it also had too many things going on where you would wonder just how would that come to be or why wouldn't anyone notice that something fishy was going on. In overall, then the storyline tried to accomplish a bit too much compared to what it delivered.

What made the movie work for me, at least, was the images and the cinematography. The movie was really beautifully shot, and it was quite dynamic. There are some really nice shots in the movie.

As for the acting, well they had some good enough people on the cast list, but I wouldn't really say that there was anything outstanding here. Good performances all around.

On a different note, then the movie does come off as interesting in the sense that some people actually do have these 'real dolls' and treat them as actual people. Which, to me, is just hilarious, and the movie does tackle this strange phenomena in a nice enough manner.

"Air Doll" has a semi-fun story to tell, but it is the type of movie that you watch once, and don't pick it up again at a later time, because the movie just doesn't have that much to offer.

in response to previous comment

[PokemonBurner · 10/10 · 21 September 2009]

Air Doll is a rather sad and delicate story about the loss of innocence, urban alienation, loneliness, and what it means to be human. The film touches upon a theme of men treating women as mere sex objects, but it is in no way related to prostitution.

The film is intended for mature audiences who can appreciate the issues raised by the director. Fans of Bae Doo-na will find a lot to like here, as the actress has done an admirable job portraying a sex doll come to life. She is in almost every frame, often in her birthday suit.

A cast of supporting characters is introduced, but their stories only briefly touch the main plot line, and we do not get to spend significant time with any of them. It works as a perfect illustration of fleeting encounters with strangers in a big city.

Would be a film classic if the director reedited it.

[softsofa · 7/10 · 7 May 2020]

Great story, nice acting by the lead, good-looking cinematography, plus simple but sweet music. Beautiful ending with 3 meanings. But it's a 90 minute tale stretched to 125. I'd love to see the director revisit this for a shorter edit.

I gave it a "7", but it would be an easy "9" for me if edited for length.

Saccharine, but has its moments

[birthdaynoodle · 5/10 · 25 May 2013]

Director Hirokazu Koreeda boldly took on the challenge of making a film about a sex doll, a story based on an original manga series. The main character, Nozomi, starts out as a woman who's never been treated as anything other than a sex object. She is sometimes embodied in the film by an actual doll and other times by Korean actress Bae Doona, a combination that works out very nicely. As she begins to gain more awareness of herself and the world around her, she realizes how human relationships can be infinitely more fulfilling. I don't want to give away too much, but in essence, she seems to discover the link between love and beauty. The notion of a character in search of its human soul is reminiscent of 'Pinocchio' and 'The Little Mermaid' (which is directly referred to in the film). To replace such traditional figures with a sex doll is an interesting concept and I thought Koreeda would get away with it... until I got about halfway through the film, at which point, unfortunately, he lost me.

Koreeda's 2004 film, 'Nobody Knows', is one of my all-time favorites, so I have to admit that I approached 'Air Doll' with very high expectations. The director's style is quiet, delicate, meditative, even feminine, something that is more commonly found in Asian cinema and art. As a Western man, I appreciate it when directors like him provide that sort of aesthetic, which is all too rare on our side of the globe. But as much as I enjoyed that quality in 'Nobody Knows', for example, I felt that 'Air Doll' is excessively sweet. At times, Bae's performance as a doll is very effective, particularly when her facial expressions seem most strange and awkward; but too often, she plays her role in a way that's just too "kawaii" (Japanese for "adorably cutesy") for me. Personally, I find that style more appropriate in animation, and rather too tacky on (live-action) film. The symbolism in 'Air Doll' also seems too heavy-handed and ultimately sinks the film from that wonderful lightness that it achieves in some parts earlier on.

Surprising Affective

[crossbow0106 · 6 November 2010]

Doo-na Bae, who I saw less than two weeks ago in "Spring Bears Love", now stars as a life size blow up doll come to like. As Nozomi, she lives with a middle aged man (before she comes to life), where he speaks to her, dresses her in various outfits and even makes love to her. When she comes alive, she wanders out into a video store where she meets the clerk Junichi, and begins to work there, also quickly growing very fond of him. As Nozomi, Doo-na Bae, who is prettier now than when she was in "Spring Bears Love", delivers a wonderful, affecting performance. Its a role that is not easy to play, you have to first accept that she came to life. As a love story, it borders on moving. The premise sounds like it could be a tawdry film, but it really isn't. Its a bold idea as a serious film and it works. I recommend it.

"People with cold hands can have warm hearts"

[JuguAbraham · 6/10 · 24 September 2018]

Mixed reactions.

Awful because the premise of the film expects you to throw rational thinking to the wind. Appreciating it is akin to appreciating Superman.

On the other hand, the film offers awesome script writing in the two/three segments involving an old bearded gentleman.

Weighing both feelings, this Kore-eda film still offers more than what the American films "Her" and "Bi-centennial man" could offer. However, it does come up to the level of Alex Garland's "Ex Machina."

Air Doll

[M0n0_bogdan · 7/10 · 7 April 2023]

"People with cold hand have warm hearts"

A beautifully melancholic film about lonely, empty people. Some people fill themselves with food, some with porn, I fill myself with films, she filled herself with air and found that she can live, fully live, with the significant others air. Maybe the pump means antidepressants and once she found a purpose, she was able to let them go. It also works as cute metaphor for love too. Too bad she didn't understand that not everyone needs what she needs, not in the same way, at least. The ending was kinda weird.

The only thing that didn't gel with me was the extra half hour it had and didn't need.