Dopperugenga/Doppelganger (2003)

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa (not to be confused with Akira Kurosawa)
Writers: Ken Furusawa, Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Actors: Koji Yakusho, Hiromi Nagasaku, Yusuke Santamaria

Rating: 3 Black Sheep

Have you ever seen two different trailers for the same movie and they seem to have completely different plots? I understand that studios and distributors are going to do what they can to get people to buy tickets or DVDs but I think there is a certain danger when you go too off-track in an attempt to draw in an audience. The Japanese movie Doppelganger is a case in point. If you look at the DVD cover art for the U.S. release, it refers to the film as "the most frightening", a claim that is so misleading, I'm sure it has disappointed plenty. The one reviewer on Amazon.com says he was expecting a Japanese horror film but was very upset when he realized he wasn't getting what he bargained for and now anyone who comes across his review might think twice about making a purchase based on his one-star assessment. Does Doppelganger fail to deliver in the fright department? I say no because it's not meant to be frightening, disturbing, yes but not frightening. It can't even be considered a horror movie, really. The question is, what kind of movie is it?

Michio (Yakusho) is a researcher/inventor for a company that specializes in medical equipment and he is working on a "virtual body", a chair on wheels with arms that move in response to the occupant's brain waves. He is married to his job but Michio is obviously stuck in a rut and has become unpleasant to say the least. One day he sees his doppelganger, or his twin, and from that point on is unable to shake him. His double turns out to be an uninhibited, mischievous and dangerous version of himself. Michio resists his double's "attempts" to get his life back on track, but as he sees things going his way, he gets on board with his twin's questionable methods. Everything spins quickly out of control and Michio must contend with the possibility that his doppelganger's murderous tendencies may have been a part of him all along.

Doppelganger is at times a thriller while at others it plays like a comedy, an action-adventure, or a drama. There aren’t any scares but the premise is certainly disturbing. And is that really what it sounds like when you are hit on the head with a hammer? The special effects that allow actor Koji Yakusho to play both Michio and his double are top-notch. A combination of green screens and CGI effects are used to create the illusion not only that there are two distinct individuals but also that they actually interact with each other on the same physical plane. Yakusho supplements this by deftly showcasing each character’s unique personality. Director Kurosawa also employs some clever and stylized cinematography tricks to really draw the viewer into the world of Michio and his double in a way that almost dares you to just try and find a technical error. Look for a scene where the doppelganger slaps and shakes a drunken Michio awake, neat and incredibly effective.

As I alluded to earlier, Doppelganger is difficult to categorize so in order to appreciate the film, I think it is best to go into it with as few expectations as possible. At times it is tough to speculate where the story is going and this can be a negative point for some viewers. Questions are left unanswered and there is no easy resolution in the ending. Is the doppelganger real? Which man is the true Michio in the end? Is there a message to be found about societal repression and the breaking free of the individual? Is the doppelganger a necessary evil who serves as a catalyst to liberation? Or is this just one man’s descent into madness? Is any of it real? I don’t know, but it is certainly thought provoking. Give it a watch and let me know what you think.