The Return Of Doona Bae

Doona Bae in Cloud Atlas

So I’m watching the movie Cloud Atlas, and I’m at the storyline set in the futuristic Neo-Korea of 2144 where a genetically cloned servant girl named Sonmi-451 is being interrogated about her socially conscious “awakening” which took her from her former docile and hive-minded state, into her period of “social awakening” which took her to human-like status where she eventually became a rebel figure.

As it plays on, the plot began to remind me of that touching and bittersweet Japanese movie Air Doll (Kuki Ningyo), the story about the innocent and wide-eyed blow-up doll that came to life and her interactions with humanity, not only did the STORY seem similar, in fact, the actress PLAYING Sonmi 451 looked a HELLA lot like the actress playing the Air Doll,too! By the time the movie was about halfway over, I was convinced: this HAD to be the same girl- she was too similar and PERFECT in the role!

Doona Bae in Air Doll

Well, when the movie ended (after an epic 2 hour and 45 minute odyssey) and the credits ran, I saw the name “Doona Bae” go scrolling by, and realized that, yep, that’s exactly who it was! So amazing, those Watchowski Brothers probably saw Air Doll back in the day, and when they read the story of Sonmi451, the girl who left the world of compliant, blind servitude and went out into the real world to experience what it meant to be alive, they knew EXACTLY who to go to!

Gotta say that not only was she totally awesome in the role, her storyline actually ended up being my favorite of all the arcs IN Cloud Atlas! So mesmerizing as the former servant girl who gets elevated to martyr status, but that isn’t all- you ALSO get to see her Doona Bae (under heavy prosthetics makeup) portraying a chatty Mexican woman, and you ain’t seen nothing til you’ve seen her as a red-haired white woman! Amazing!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

A Melancholy Film: Kuki Ningyo "Air Doll"

Doona Bae as Nozomi in Kuki Ningyo

When I picked up the movie Kuki Ningyo (Air Doll), the story about an inflatable sex doll that comes to life and goes out exploring the world when her owner is at work each day, I thought I was in for a cute, light-hearted, quirky comedy...
BOY was I wrong about that!

Air Doll: Doona Bae

While Air Doll does have its quirky moments, and Korean actress Doona Bae is extremely adorable as Nozomi, the sex doll come to life, this was much much more than a light comedy. While following  Nozomi's search for the meaning for living and happiness, she discovers the world and people around her are just as much in confusion about the very same things as she is. When she proclaims to a lonely old man that she is "empty inside" (as she's full of air), he sadly notes that a malady of that kind is not such a rare thing for people.

As she searches deeper and deeper into the answers for her existence, we see Nozomi's wide- eyed innocence slowly turn to sadness and detachment as she is faced with the reality of "real life" and as if to punctuate how bitter living can be, we are also given insight into the people around her, where we realize Nozomi is just one of a thousand people coping with their own personal hardships from day to day.

Without giving away any spoilers I have to say that the movie ended on SUCH a somber tone that when it was over, I just could NOT shake off this feeling of utter loneliness! That's quite a movie to make me feel like that! Ahhhh, man, I'm depressed! Somebody better give me a comedy, QUICK! Time to re-watch "Summer Time-Machine Blues" to pick me up!