Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2009

©2009 業田良家/小学館/『空気人形』製作委員会

Vying for the title of Best Living Japanese Filmmaker are Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Hirokazu Kore-eda. Both of their most recent works, Kurosawa’s Tokyo Sonata and Kore-eda’s Aruitemo, Aruitemo (“Still Walking”), were near-masterpieces. Now Kore-eda unveils Kuki Ningyo, a project he started working on before Aruitemo, Aruitemo, but which he shelved to shoot that more personal piece following the death of his parents. Based on a manga, Kuki Ningyo is a far more surreal film that concerns an inflatable sex doll purchased by pitiful waiter Hideo (Itsuji Itao). He treats the doll like a real person, talking to it, buying clothes and, of course, having sex with it. The doll, called Nozomi (played by Korean actress Bae Du-na), comes to life and starts going out into the world while Hideo is at work. Though the narrative is a bit meandering and the parable transparent, this is another thought-provoking work from Kore-eda. English title: Air Doll. (116 min)