search Filmfest by ... Film/Event Country Language Date Location Film Series

----------

Air Doll

HIROKAZU KORE-EDA
Japan, 2009, 126 minutes, Color, film's website

South Korean icon Bae Du-na gives a fantastic performance as Nozomi, the love doll companion to a boring, sleazy but essentially harmless middle-aged man (Itsuji Itao). Within the first minutes of the movie, she inexplicably comes to life, not because of some magic wish or cinematic gimmick; she simply "found a heart." Nozomi sneaks out of the apartment to explore the world. Interestingly, instead of feeling any kind of love or even loyalty for her master, Nozomi hides her newfound life from him and falls for a young video store clerk instead. Hirokazu Kore-eda is one of today’s most consistently excellent filmmakers; his recent movies After Life, Still Walking, and Nobody Knows are critical hits worldwide. Adapted from a 20-page graphic short story published by manga artist Yoshiie Gouda, Air Doll is, of course, adorable and funny but it also achieves a devastating wallop of unexpected pathos. —Teresa Nieman, twitchfilm.net

In Japanese with English subtitles

Trailers may not have subtitles but all of our foreign language films do.
Having trouble viewing the trailer? See it here.

Submit your film       Contact us       Print sources       Past festivals