Doppelganger (2003)

Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Country of Origin: Japan

Engineer Michio Hayasaki (Kôji Yakusho) is a bit of a perfectionist. While in the middle of developing a revolutionary wheelchair that will vastly improve the lives of quadriplegics, something strange happens. After seeing an exact double of himself, Hayasaki assumes that the pressure from the board of directors funding the project has finally gotten to him. Before he can blame just being overworked, his very real doppelganger steps into his life, promising him things that he can’t achieve on his own. The original Hayasaki is a pushover who never has the courage to say or do what he truly wants. This never version of himself has no such limitations. He is bold, headstrong, confident, and totally immoral. The moment Hayasaki gives in to his doppelganger, his life begins to spin out of control. It doesn’t take long before he has to stand up for himself but is it already too late?

I have yet to see a Kiyoshi Kurosawa film that I didn’t enjoy. Unfortunately, the cruddy trailer I initially saw for Doppelganger was not very flattering and I did a hard pass on the film. As usual, I was a fool! Much to my surprise, this film is frickin’ gloriously wicked and very unpredictable -more than a little bit like a certain doppelganger! This Faustian parable about how, while being a total wimp and letting people walk all over you is bad, doing whatever the hell your deepest, darkest desires crave will likely not end very well. Once you give in, even just a little, it’s already too late.

Kurosawa’s sense of humor is very dark and seeing the doppelganger in action results in some creepily funny moments. He also fills the movie with fun little touches like the wacko pseudoscience of Hayasaki’s futuristic wheelchair technology and unique plot tangents that would take me forever to get into here. Yakusho, who’s worked with Kurosawa many times on classics like Cure (1997) and Séance (2000), is in rare form here playing two very different sides of the same unlikeable man that I end up rooting for in spite of myself. Did I mention that my doppelganger won’t let me finish this review? He’s mean and you shouldn’t trust him. Hey, look! Hitomi Satô of Ringu (1998) and Ringu 2 (1999) is in this! Gotta go!