Doppelganger

R

Released Sep 27, 2003

1h 43m

Drama

Sci-Fi

List

56%

Tomatometer

9 Reviews

52%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

A research scientist (Kôji Yakusho) encounters an exact double who takes over his career and uses violence to achieve his goals.

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Sura Wood

Hollywood Reporter

A mildly intriguing, if slight, entertainment.

Jul 28, 2004

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...an interminable experience...

Rated: 1/4

Apr 2, 2005

Full Review

Edward Douglas

ComingSoon.net

One Japanese movie we probably won't be seeing remade in English anytime soon.

Rated: 4/10

Jan 25, 2005

Full Review

Andrea Chase

Killer Movie Reviews

tweaks the genre and the audience's expectations, subtly changing from a quietly effective horror film into a slick satire on modern life. And that is no less scary

Rated: 4/5

Jan 24, 2005

Full Review

Christopher Null

Filmcritic.com

Rated: 2/5

Jan 13, 2005

Full Review

Josh Ralske

All Movie Guide

Koji Yakusho delivers a wonderfully droll dual performance, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa uses split-screen effects brilliantly.

Rated: 7/10

Jul 11, 2004

Full Review

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Audience Member

Kiyoshis worst film to date by far. a fantastic director sinks into the mainstream with this disaster of a mystery featuring numerous casual clinches.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A fiendishly clever & wickedly amusing seriocomic thriller--A wickedly pleasant experience!!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Interessante l'inizio e ben ritmato il finale, però nel resto della durata si trascina senza troppo entusiasmo.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Starts off incredibly slow. The double and tri shots are nice. The whole film has a sleepy, lethargic feel to it. It picks up the last half hour, but even the bludgeonings are calm, matter of fact affairs with no flair. Strange ending.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Interesting, yet unsatisfying. I loved Koji Yakusho! Funny and demented...

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie is the kind of movie that will have people loving or hating it. But I think one thing cannot be denied, this is amazing filmmaking. No one can really doubt the effects and effectiveness of the visuals in this movie. And the character development means something when you get to the last act, but once you get to the last act you realize the transformation of the separate entities as the relate to the whole ? and by then the entire act is almost executed in symbolism. This is Kurosawa at his technical best. The movie is moody, even in the bright countryside. The machine means so much more and is a perfect symbolic catalyst for the doppelganger. And the story of the brother himself in the first act really brings the tone of the movie right to our noses, right up to the truck accident. Actually, the entire movie gets very symbolic and more allegorical once they are in the countryside. There are many points about control of the body and reflection on oneself that is very deep in their visual use. And, as usual, the violence in the movie is brutal and real. It is one thing I appreciate about Kurosawa, like what Cronenberg did in History of Violence, he gave it to us in an exciting way, but made sure it wasn?t polished and that we saw the aftermath. I recommend this movie to anyone who likes character studies with a sci-fi twist, or really character study movies and don?t mind realistic violence. This is definitely a psych class paper. And the split screens are played to wonderful effect. It was like watching a De Palma movie when he was good.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

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Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Director

Kôji Yakusho

Michio Hayasaki

Hiromi Nagasaku

Nagai Yuka

Yûsuke Santamaria

Kimishima

Masahiro Toda

Aoki

Hitomi Sato

Takano

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Synopsis

A research scientist (Kôji Yakusho) encounters an exact double who takes over his career and uses violence to achieve his goals.

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Production Co: Palisades Tartan Films
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 27, 2003, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 24, 2016
Runtime: 1h 43m
Sound Mix: Surround