Three contemporary, interwoven stories inspired by the everlasting emotions expressed in Bunraku theatre, the Japanese traditional art of stage puppetry, and the works of the 17th century Japanese dramatist Monzaemon Chikamatsu. Three visually stunning and deeply touching stories of undying love in which the 'human puppets' play out a story conceived by the Bunraku dolls. The film begins during their working hours, their performance. And after their day's work is done, they rest alone and start telling stories, manipulating the humans who become the 'living dolls', pulled by the strings of fate. Three tales of love bound to one another with a piece of red cord.
Matsumoto and Sawako were once a happy couple who seemed destined for marriage. But the age-old pressures of meddling parents and success force the young man to make a tragic choice. He is selected by the president of his company to marry his daughter, a match that will ensure him a bright future. During the wedding ceremony he is told by a friend that Sawako, his true love, has attempted suicide, surviving with brain damage, and Matsumoto leaves his wedding to take Sawako from the hospital. She now wanders the countryside in a mindless daze, bound safely to Matsumoto by a long red cord. On a journey that will cover the four seasons passing from cherry blossoms and summer beaches, to autumn foliage and winter snows, their love becomes stronger and more enduring. To curious eyes, they roam aimlessly. But Matsumoto and Sawako are on a journey in search of something they have lost.
Hiro is an ageing yakuza boss in constant fear of assassination. Although surrounded by respect and affluence, Hiro is alone and his health is failing. Thirty years ago, he was a poor factory worker with a loving girlfriend who brought him lunch in the park. But he abandoned her to search for his dreams of making it big. Throughout the years that have passed she has returned every week in the hope of finding him again. Now, thirty years later, Hiro is drawn back to the park where they used to meet.
Haruna Yamaguchi spends a lot of time on an isolated beach, looking at the sea. Her beautiful face is half-covered in bandages. Not long before the car accident, Haruna was a successful pop star who lived alone in a glamorous world of TV shows and autograph sessions. Millions adored her, longed to be close to her. Now Haruna refuses to be seen again in public. But Nukui, who is probably her most devoted fan and wants so desperately to be with her, finds a way to make Haruna agree to see him in order that he can prove his undying love for her.
Chikamatsu's works are distinct for adding human elements to the theme of the conflict between social pressure and personal desire. His dramas often revolve around the tragedy that can arise when one blindy chooses the importance of loyalty (to one's feudal lord, family, etc) over personal feelings. A great many of Chikamatsu's plays are about shinju, or love suicides. 'Making a choice' means that you have two or more options to choose from. But all the protagonists in these stories are possessed with their own selfish idea of which direction they should take and they act accordingly. They aren't really making choices because they can't see the other options. None of the events in the stories would have happened if the characters were well-balanced enough to make real 'choices'.
A stunning and emotional meditation on love, commitment, conscience, and the consequences of choice. Expressed through visual rhyme and startling adjustments of perspective which draw us deep into the characters' inner worlds, the three stories explore themes of regret, sorrow, loss and sacrifice and the idea that one's destiny is inescapable.
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