Hawaii International Film Festival 2009

A story of love and frailty, AIR DOLL takes the essence of what it means to be human and distills it down to its purest form in this bittersweet love story that smoothly intertwines fantasy and reality. The air doll that belongs to quiet middle-aged Hideo (Itsuji Itao) has never been anything out of the ordinary. Each evening after work, he chats with her over the dinner table, bathes her and makes love to her before turning in for the night. After he leaves the house one day, the air doll miraculously comes to life. Awestruck at the beauty of everything around her, she wanders through the city. Her life is changed forever when she walks into a video store and falls helplessly in love with the clerk, Junichi (Arata). Bae Doona (THE HOST, HIFF 2006) charms as the innocent air doll with a sad and winsome beauty; her chemistry with Arata is palpable, and their onscreen ingenuousness is truly moving. Disarming and thoughtful, AIR DOLL is a beguiling tale that examines the evanescence of life through the lens of innocence. - TIFF