All three stories are about the decisions we make that affect our whole lives, but the key element here is that we are powerless to make the right decision due to the sheer emotions involved, not to mention pressure from other people. This larger issue--consequences, blame, responsibility--is where the title comes in; the film is framed with a bunraku performance, Japan's national art-form involving elaborate puppets. The central story of Matsumo and Sawako parallels a famous bunraku love tragedy, and the film is designed to heighten reality with outrageous costumes, lyrical cinematography, minimalist music and weighty romantic themes. Kitano's film is at times drop-dead gorgeous, powerfully moving and very confusing. A lot of the plot elements are undefined, even as the film's hints and insinuations grip us deeply. The sheer artfulness of it all is rather self-indulgent at times, feeling slow and long and more than a little fragmented. But it's also visually vibrant and laced with colour and irony. A curiosity that's well worth seeing just for whatever you find in it.