Dolls (2006 film)
Encyclopedia
- For the 1987 film by Stuart GordonStuart GordonAfter the University of Wisconsin demanded future theatrical productions by Screw Theater be overseen by a University Professor, Gordon cut his University ties to form Broom Street Theater. Its first production, the new translation of the risque Lysistrata, premiered in May 1969. Gordon is...
, see Dolls (1987 film)Dolls (1987 film)Dolls is a horror film directed by Stuart Gordon, shot in Italy in 1985 and released in 1987.- Plot summary :A violent thunderstorm strands six people in the gothic English countryside: Judy, who's traveling with her thuggish father and her cold, self-centered, stepmother...
. - For the 2002 film by Takeshi KitanoTakeshi Kitanois a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...
, see Dolls (film)Dolls (film)is a 2002 Japanese film written, edited and directed by Japanese director Takeshi Kitano. A highly stylized art film, Dolls is part of Kitano's non-crime film oeuvre, like 1991's A Scene at the Sea, and unlike most of his other films, he does not act in it...
.
Dolls is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
short film written and directed by Susan Luciani, narrated by Charles Dance
Charles Dance
Walter Charles Dance, OBE is an English actor, screenwriter and director. Dance typically plays assertive bureaucrats or villains. His most famous roles are Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown , Dr Clemens, the doctor of penitentiary Fury 161, who becomes Ellen Ripley's confidante in Alien 3 ,...
and starring Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
and Denis Lawson
Denis Lawson
Denis Stamper Lawson is a Scottish actor and director. He is known for his roles as John Jarndyce in the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House and as Gordon Urquhart in the film Local Hero, but is best known for playing the part of Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy.-Early life:Lawson was...
. Broadcast on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Sky TV
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
, the film was officially selected to play in International film festivals in Los Angeles, Spain, San Francisco, Italy, Paris, Cyprus, Africa, and Japan. It was also shown at Roguerunner Screenings and at Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
2006 and selected to feature as part of the British Society of Cinematographers
British Society of Cinematographers
The British Society of Cinematographers was formed in 1949 by Bert Easey, 23 August 1901 - 28 February 1973, the then head of the Denham and Pinewood studio camera departments.The stated objectives at the formation of the BSC were...
' New Film Maker Night at Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
.
Plot
Inspired by a story that appeared in a 1950s newspaper, this short film plays out a year in the life of a young girl, Mouche. Deemed too skinny to make a living at the Moulin Rouge, Mouche is cast out and saved from suicide by a group of puppets traveling from town to town performing street puppet shows for a few paltry francs.She joins them on their journey and together they become quite an attraction earning more money than they have ever made. In turn, the puppets become Mouche’s beloved family, yet behind them lurks a cruel and abusive man who is desperately in love with her, “It would have all been so perfect if not for the puppeteer.” Mouche must make a decision, to stay for the love of the puppets or go to escape the terrible wrath of the puppeteer.
Crew
- Susan Luciani - Writer/director
- Lindsay Mcfarlane - Producer
- Rick Mietkowski - Director of photography
- Ben Foster - Music composer
- Mark Maclaine - Sound engineer/ADR recordist
- Jordana Finkel - Art director
(and others)
Reviews
- "I thought Dolls was just extraordinary. One of the keys of making short films, you want to create your own universe, have your own voice and this film has a spectacularly different significant, coloured voice. I’ve not seen a short film like it before.” - Jeremy Howe, Head of Short Films, BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
- "Extraordinary in its inventiveness and economy of light. The lighting evokes the mood perfectly." - Alex Thomson, BSC
- "This film is captivating” - ZimbabweZimbabweZimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
International Film Festival
- "Susan Luciani is an inventive and imaginative writer, very cinematic. Dolls is undeniably a vibrant and original short." - Film Four
Trivia
- Too Cold to Snow by British band Second PersonSecond Person (band)Second Person were a British band that existed for 10 years between 2001 and 2011 and mixed influences from trip hop, jazz, hip hop and electronica to form Post Trip Hop ....
(from their ChromatographyChromatography (album)Chromatography is a 2004 Post Trip Hop album by Second Person.This is the band's debut album and all songs were written by Julia Johnson and Mark Maclaine, except "Word for Word" which also credits Ed Webber and Tristan Kajanus, "Demons Die" which also credits Álvaro López and "Divine" which was...
album) is the main credits music for this film. - Dolls is shot entirely on steadicam as if it is one continuous shot. This method of shooting allows the audience to engage with the film without distractions of edit cuts.