Arata, Du-na Bae, Itsuji Itao, Jô Odagiri, Kimiko Yo ...( see more  see more... ) , Mari Hoshino , Sumiko Fuji , Susumu Terajima

A life-size blow-up doll develops a soul and falls in love with a video store clerk.

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73% liked it

89 ratings

Unrated

Directed by: Hirokazu Koreeda

Release Date: September 26, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (13)


  • October 31, 2009
    Acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda's latest, "Air Doll", is sort of modern fairy tale about gender roles, the need for companionship, and the loneliness of urban living. The metaphorical nature of the material is perhaps too blunt and overstated, but nonetheless the f...( read more)ilm is a thoroughly entertaining, if incredibly bizarre, effort.

    A lonely waiter, Hideo (Itsuji Itao), lives in such solitude that he purchases an inflatable doll for companionship. He tells her about his day, sits her at the table while he's eating, and makes love to her nightly. One morning, however, the doll Nozomi (Bae Doo-na) comes to a revelation: "I found myself with a heart I was not supposed to have".

    While Hideo is at work, Nozomi explores the world - naively mimicking behavior and language, and eventually finding herself employed part-time at a video rental store. Although she may have begun to look authentically human, the seams on her skin imply that she remains plastic - and, thus, still in danger of inflating. Watch out for the incredibly erotic scenes in which Nozomi's love-interest literally blows his breath into her belly button to keep her plastic skin swollen.

    The material is affable for about an hour, but the premise is spread too thin to retain it's momentum any longer. Kore-eda begins throwing everything at us, from Nozomi's discovery of her maker to a gruesome accident, and the material is too exhausting and unfocused to take much from. Alongside the core narrative's weaknesses, however, the film's huge misfire is the brief montages of other city folk - other lost souls, desperately in need of a friend, living as hermits in their apartments.

    Kore-eda only casually flirts with the idea of sexuality, identifying Nozomi as "a cheap substitute for sexual satisfaction", but I was underwhelmed in how little he explored womanhood. The interesting idea here, I felt, was the clearly-defined gender roles - how Nozomi has to live her life in secret, only to return home and remain quiet and still for sex.

    Despite the flaws, particularly the inconsistent and under-realized narrative, "Air Doll" is nevertheless enjoyable due to the intoxicating charm of Bae Doo-na. Her face, so expressive, perfectly responds to the city as if she were a newborn.
  • November 9, 2009
    Japanese sex culture + Pinocchio = Air Doll. There aren't many more words that come close to describing this film.
  • October 29, 2009
    Just seen Air Doll in London, one of the best movies I have watched for a long time! When it goes on general release please see it.

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