Doppelganger (2003)

Fantastic!

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Blistering performances.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa movies at first sight always seem like some typical genre pieces but then he does something totally unexpected with its story and approach, with as a result that his movies are often something really special and unique to watch. Also often quite weird though, as is also the case with "Dopperugengâ".But unlike most of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's movies, this one doesn't take itself very seriously. It's also more of a comedy than anything else really. And this is what makes the movie such a perfectly watchable and entertaining one, even though at times you will most likely have no idea what is going on with its story.The movie has a pretty odd but yet intriguing main premise of an inventor, who is slowly starting to loose it and a doppelganger of him starts to appear, who seems to help him out with all of his problems. This is pretty most what the movie its first half is all about. In its second half things start to take an even more weird turn. I definitely liked the movie its more slower but stylish first half better than its insane second one but still overall it all remained good and entertaining enough to keep me watching and interested till the end.The entire movie sound weird but fact is that it's all done incredibly well. It's all nicely directed and told and also uses some good old fashioned trickery and true creativity, instead of some overly present CGI effects.All of the actors are really likable in their roles. Kôji Yakusho is an actor that works quite often together with Kiyoshi Kurosawa and he is also one of my favorite, still working, Japanese actors, who every now and then also pops up in a big Hollywood production.An unusual but unique and likable movie. Definitely not Kiyoshi Kurosawa's best or most interesting and provoking movie though.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

One of these days, I'll see one of these so-called "horror" films that Kiyoshi Kurosawa directs. This and "Bright Future" are the only two I've seen thus far and both were completely unexpected. Don't let the American box art deceive you: it's not a "frightening" film. However, it's fantastic. And truly bizarre. Assigning this film a genre is a ridiculous exercise. It shifts seamlessly between moments of high emotional drama, absurdist comedy, and violence. And underneath it all is an interesting exploration of the concept of self: The reconciliation of who one wants to be, who one is trying to avoid becoming, and who one is. As the credits rolled, I laughed, impressed. Don't go into the film with expectations. Just try it.

There are some elements of Hitchcock in the film. The set up is annoyingly slow for some people, but it's quite rewarding. The message of the film, is to listen to your own self, not the doppelganger. the doppelganger is within us, not necessarily seen. The point of him seeing is doppelganger, is that his double has the temerity to do the things he (Hayasaki) couldn't do. As he becomes bolder and more amoral he wonders is he becoming the doppelganger? Is Hayashi becoming the worst part of himself? Or perhaps his double is the real suppressed Hayashi? He discovers his ruthless, ambitious, lustful self through his double. It would make an interesting remake with issues of duality and existentialism. If we could have a conversation with ourselves, what would we say? - what would our other self say to us? This would be a fascinating concept that was done in several films - most notably "Jo Jo Dancer, Your life is Calling" - "the ghost of Christmas future showing Jimmy Stewart's future without him and his effect on others. Also "Family Man" with Nicolas Cage explored this theme. DePalma's "Raising Cain" (to a lesser degree) I thought this premise was pretty good - some may think it was a bit underdeveloped, but I liked it.

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.