The latest work from iconoclast Kitano 'Beat' Takeshi (Hana-Bi, MIFF 1998) weaves together three stories of undying love, delicately intertwined by the beauty of sadness and inspired by the emotions expressed in the tradrtional Japanese doll theatre, Bunraku.

Bound together by a long red cord, and dressed in tradrtional Japanese dress (costumes by Yohji Yamamoto), a man and a woman search for something they have tragically forgotten. A disfigured pop singer confronts the frightening devotion of 'her biggest fan'. An aging yakuza mysteriously returns to the park where he used to meet his long-lost girlfriend. All three stories are expertly blended together by Kitano to produce a work of majesty and emotional power.

Spanning the four seasons, Dolls is highlighted by stunning photography, which captures the changes in the physical landscapes to complement the characters' emotional upheavals.