Air Doll (2009)

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

Director:

Hirokazu Koreeda

Writers:

Yoshiie Goda (manga), Hirokazu Koreeda (screenplay)

Stars:

Doona Bae, Arata Iura, Itsuji Itao

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Doona Bae	...	Nozomi
Arata Iura	...	Junichi (as Arata)
Itsuji Itao	...	Hideo
Joe Odagiri	...	Air Doll Maker
Junko Fuji	...	Widow (as Sumiko Fuji)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sei Andô
Tasuku Emoto	...	Peep-tom Student
Mari Hoshino	...	Apple Woman
Ryô Iwamatsu	...	Owner of Video Rental Shop
Tomomi Maruyama	...	Moe's father
Miu Naraki	...	Moe
Masaya Takahashi	...	Ex-substitute Teacher
Susumu Terajima	...	Policeman
Kimiko Yo	...	Receptionist

Storyline

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

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Plot Keywords:

east asia | almond eyes | video store | doll | urban setting | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Official site [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

26 September 2009 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Air Doll

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Engine Film,Bandai Visual Company,TV Man Union

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min 116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The huge watch on the air doll's left wrist always points to the same time: 3 o'clock.

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Quotes

Nozomi: It seems life is constructed in a way that no one can fulfill it alone.
Nozomi: Just as it's not enough for flowers to have pistils and stamens, an insect or a breeze must introduce a pistil to a stamen...
Nozomi: Life contains its own absence, which only an other can fulfill...
Nozomi: It seems the world is the summation of others and yet, we neither know nor are told that we will fulfill each other...
Nozomi: We lead our scattered lives, perfectly unaware of each other...
Nozomi: Or at times, allowed to find the other's presence ...
[...]

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Connections

References Stand by Me (1986)

User Reviews

a Human Doll like all of us

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.