Second Chance Cinema: Air Doll

By Rob Christopher in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 20, 2010 4:30PM

Even as we anticipate this year's CIFF (and keep your eyes peeled Wednesday morning for our take on the full schedule) some of the films featured in last year's festival are now trickling in theaters and on video. One of them, Air Doll, screens through Thursday at Facets.

If the early '80s movie Heartbeeps took place in a modern Asian metropolis, and substituted vinyl for metal, the result might be something like Air Doll. Nozomi, a blow-up sex doll decked out in a frilly maid's uniform, magically comes to life one day and ventures forth from the apartment she shares with her user, a rather sad, middle-aged man. While exploring the city she comes upon a video store displaying a "Help Wanted" sign and promptly applies for the job. As we wrote in our review last year,

Director Hirokazu Kore-eda has fashioned an ingenious fantasy which allows him to explore weighty themes like personal identity and the meaning of life without being ponderous. As Nozomi, South Korean actress Du-na Bae gives an astonishing performance. Her blank stare is gently robotic yet charged with personality. She's only an "air doll" but she's got more life than most of the humans she interacts with.

It's only fitting that the story involves a video store. Just as "old fashioned" sex dolls seem destined to be replaced by sleek, 3D cybersex devices, in the future video stores will be equally obsolete. It's that kind of food for though that makes Air Doll a worth seeing.

Facets Multimedia is at 1517 W. Fullerton Ave. More details here.