Doppelganger

Where to start? "Doppelganger" was truly a struggle to watch. It wasn't without a few moments that did succeed in keeping you glued to the screen but those were very few and to get to them you would have to withstand that urge to stop watching. Truth is I would of stopped it about half way through if it weren't for Hiromi Nagasaku who is quite the looker. To sum up the movie in as few words as possible It was about 40 minutes of blah blah blah followed by 30 minutes of confusion. I watched "Doppelganger" on DVD and both the picture and Audio was very good. Just a shame the movie could never really amount to much. But, did I mention Hiromi Nagasaku is a hottie?

Nothing wrong with this movie, but nothing particularly special about it either. It was a nice little drama, with some action, comedy and scary stuff added in for spice.

It is all about one man's struggle to try and get what he really wants out of life (quit his job he hates, getting the pretty girl, etc), but never does. So his doppelganger (not necessarily evil, more like the person he always wanted to be, but was afraid of becoming) comes along and does it for him.

Great acting, direction (great split screen usage), and an alright plot line keep you interested and entertained. Well worth seeing.

6/10

I shouldn't be surprised; this is hardly the first of the filmmaker's works that I've seen. Yet just as one is somehow astonished again and again with how in large part the oeuvre of Kurosawa Akira is one perfect film after another, I am struck again and again by how Kurosawa Kiyoshi's works mostly share the same traits of a very flat, low-key tone, often wry sensibilities, and a storytelling approach that is oddball and amorphous is not outright vague, or oblique. With this well in mind, what could possibly be more atypical of the man than to switch things up and be decidedly more overt with 'Doppelganger?' It's hardly that his other productions were carbon copies, or conversely that this does not in some fair measure share the same qualities, but the 2003 picture boasts far more liveliness, and occasionally a certain flair in how it is presented, that is uncommon for much of Kurosawa's body of work. Then again, maybe this was exactly the point given the nature of the material herein. And however we wish to judge it next to its brethren, the simple fact of the matter is that 'Doppelganger' is delightful, a smart black comedy that keeps us invested as much to see where things are going to end up as for how entertaining it is.

Increasingly dark as the length advances, the feature is also just unabashedly playful. The intermittent use of split-screen presentation accentuates the disparity between Michio and his double while simultaneously allowing more story to unfold, and even Kurosawa and Onaga Masahiro's editing is merrily sprightly. Hayashi Yusuke's sparing but tasteful and dynamic score deftly complements the mood at any time, varying between light and frivolous, moody and mysterious, and extra dramatic at points - a slightly less overcooked variation on the winking attitude that, say, pairs grandiose classical music with advertisements for cheese crackers. And while the whole cast gives unexpectedly vibrant performances, including Nagasaku Hiromi and Santamaria Yusuke, the title is also nothing if not a chance for Yakusho Koji to let loose. A frequent collaborator with Kurosawa, the dual role here allows Yakusho to show more of his range as Michio and his doppelganger carry themselves very differently, with markedly different personalities. And as the plot carries us from science fiction to offbeat humor to distinctly more grim and violent ideations, from start to finish we're taken on a peculiar, wild ride that's reliably engaging and entrancing.

Incredibly, for as fiercely intelligent and unremittingly abstruse as Kurosawa's movies have often been in their muted plot development, I'm inclined to think that of any of his projects that I've seen to date, 'Doppelganger' might be his most striking and outwardly impressive. He and co-writer Furusawa Takeshi penned a stunningly creative screenplay that shows itself more and more to be much more than first meets the eye as mercurial inventor Michio, married to his work in the worst of ways, finds himself confronted with his living mirror image. Dry, morbid, dashingly black comedy melds with touches of absurdism in building out a tale with a piercing psychological edge and earnest thriller airs as Michio and those around him are wholly transformed by their experiences. The plot takes hard turns I should have (based on the likes of 'Charisma' or 'Serpent's path') yet never would have anticipated (based on the premise, and the likes of 'Barren illusions,' 'Pulse,' or even 'Cure') and is curiously spellbinding in its imaginative, offbeat trajectory. More care went into the characterizations and dialogue than I think is too often true in cinema as they become part and parcel of communicating the narrative which is ultimately all about the character arcs, and the scene writing is nothing if not rich and vivid. With Kurosawa's expert direction achieving the perfect blend of all the many energies on hand, the result is kind of altogether dazzling.

Mizuguchi Noriyuki's warm cinematography offers its own sort of contrast to the tenor of the proceedings while ably visualizing every detail that there is to take in. From production design and art direction to stunts and effects one can readily see all the skill and hard work that went into this flick, and in the writing, direction, and acting alike we're greeted with a quietly thrumming vitality that's invigorating. Where Kurosawa's other pictures tend to be the type that sneak up on us as viewers, it's noteworthy that this one is more plainly upfront, and still it takes the full length for us to see the totality of its brilliance. I assumed from the outset that I'd enjoy 'Doppelganger,' but I'm all so pleased with just how good it actually is - absorbing, funny, thought-provoking, and honestly tantalizing for the story that it gives us, not to mention satisfying and, after its own fashion, rewarding. It's a feature that definitely occupies the stranger side of the medium, but if one is open to all the wide possibilities that cinema has to offer, it would be a sore mistake to pass this up. I, for one, adore Kurosawa's 'Doppelganger,' and I'm happy to give it my very high recommendation.

This is definitely Kurosawa's most overt black comedy that's conveniently disguised as a sci-fi piece. If Kubrick were still alive and happened to marry David Lynch in a surprise gay wedding and then they decided to adopt a Japanese baby, that baby would be Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Blammo! The dark humor and simmering subtext gel nicely here and definitely warrant repeated viewings. You won't find creeps and crawls like in Kurosawa's other films such as Pulse, Retribution, Cure or Seance. I guess Charisma is the closest thing to compare it to, but Doppelganger is Kurosawa's funniest film by far. It's not for everyone, but then again if you're reading this review, it's probably right up your alley.

i probably shouldn't comment on this, as i turned it off an hour into it. absolutely unwatchable. i loved "cure", kurosawa's previous outing with the great koji yakusho, but this one was a mess through and through. it's like they didn't know what to do with it. the premise, about a man who meets his exact double, is nearly foolproof. there're so many ways to approach it, i really can't believe they couldn't make at least a decent movie out of this. but right from the beginning, the tone is all over the place and the plot just completely meanders. even yakusho's acting is weak (never thought i'd have to write that). not good.