Daily Riffs From TIFF - Day 4

Greetings, cinephiles everywhere (and you know who you are). Today, was a quiet day on the film front, though tomorrow does promise to be much busier. The one film I did see was definitely a curio: it was AIR DOLL, directed by HIROZAKU KORE - EDA.

WARNING: PLEASE BE AWARE THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN MANY PUNS, SOME OF WHICH ARE REALLY GOOD AND OTHERS WHICH ARE NOT. CONTINUE TO READ THIS REVIEW AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.

Alright, so this film was part of the "masters" program and it certainly was "masterfully" directed. As for the story, well...

To give a blow by blow description, (oh. oh here they pun), the film is about a lonely, Japanese man who acquires an air doll, for rest and recreation and how one day it magically comes to life and becomes a 'living doll.' She soon goes out on her own to see the big city. The film seems to want to deal with such weighty issues as life and love and mortality, but in my opinion, it was just alot of hot air. I must say that DOONA BAE, does an excellent job as the ''airhead'' and her sense of wonder at her environment is very palpable. It also has some of the most gorgeous cinematography, I have ever seen in a movie. The film also has an appropriate dreamy quality, although it did tend to drag on and on.

However, the best thing about movies like this is how we are exposed to another culture and how they live from day to day. So in conclusion and to clear the air (last one, I promise), It did have alot of good things in it, but on the whole it was a little long and overly simplistic. Tomorrow more reviews (and hopefully, less puns).

T.T.F.N.