Dolls

Takeshi Kitano creates a highly stylistic and artistic cinematic spectacle in the 2002 film, Dolls. The three stories portrayed in the movie can be described as tragic and manipulative; hence the title which relates to the popular Japanese performances of burnaku. Although Kitano pushes the stories at a very slow pace, he proves methodical when showing particular scenes to moviegoers. Thus, there exists better appreciation for both the script and imagery. However, at times the dialogue is long and dry, with little music accompanying some of the most evocative moments. Understandably, Kitano looks and hopes to engage the viewer through the fantastic acting and very powerful script — not through the music — so the score composed by Joe Hisaishi is very minimalistic and very short in duration. Hisaishi, of course, a renowned japanese film composer with abundant credits and awards under his belt, still manages to provide an effective score that borrows elements from various music genres. Ultimately, this score is far from being a musical masterpiece; managing to help the film in the instances needed but never creating a separate worthwhile identity.

Sakura begins the first track with electronic elements that revolve around melodramatic harmonies, including a distinct synthesized choir, eventually leading to a short theme at 1:19. The music appears to wander around a three-note phrase that never materializes. Furthermore, the theme presented earlier is utilized again in different variations, making it more apparent towards the end of the track. “Pure White” and “Mad” follow with a very slow electric piano performance accompanied by electronic pads. The harmonies and chords do not deviate too much from the ones heard in the first track, but this time there are no audible themes or motifs. The sweeping pads and high-pitched synthesizer sounds do not do much musically, even though they lessen some of the dryness of the film. Following these tracks is “Feelness,” which begins with a cheerful piano sequence that unfortunately lacks a solid musical construction and development. A five-note motif dominates most of the track, accompanied only by a very rudimentary gliding set of left-hand notes.

Dolls is the final track in the album and perhaps the better one out of the whole. The electronic pads continue to dominate the soundscape for the better part; yet, starting at 2:00, Hisaishi provides glimpses of what could have been a much better score. A well crafted four-note motif, aided by a short lived vocal performance and a subtle but effective rhythm, offer the listener a more enjoyable musical experience — one that seems complete and rehearsed.

In the end, much of the score by Hisaishi sounds like an improvised performance with little musical focus. For brief moments, a short theme or recognizable motif surfaces, but eventually the music drifts towards electronic textures that fill voids inside the film, not outside. The chord progressions and harmonies are certainly pleasant; nevertheless, one wonders whether Hisaishi ever leaves the theatrical realm to enter the more gloomy aspect of the film. Similar to the movie, the music moves very slowly and never achieves any sort of climatic resolution. The overuse of simplistic note-for-note piano passages eventually tire the listener, and having almost no live elements make the listening experience even more monotonous. Hisaishi does offer some short moments of musical finesse, but not enough to compensate for the other less than dazzling musical executions.