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Title: Gemini (2006) Starring: Masahiro Motoki, Ryô, Yasutaka Tsutsui, Shiho Fujimura, and Tadanobu Asano Director: Shinya Tsukamoto Rating: Unrated Runtime: 83 minutes Avg. Score: 4 Submit Comment Hits: 18

Review of Gemini

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Comments for Gemini

• Posted on 2007-01-25
  A Very Strange And Dark Thriller: Excellent Film!
  
  I agree with the reveiwer below, that director Shinya Tsukamoto is very underrated. I purchased the film "Gemini," several years ago from Japan, and found it to be a very intriguing film. And what starts out as a horror film, soon evolves into something completely different. The story was inspired by the writer Edogawa Rampo, whose novels and short stories were prolific during the Meiji period of Japan, especially during the 1920s. The film begins with the main protagonist Dr. Yukio Daitokuji (Masahiro Motoki) living a good life. He has a great practice in the Tokyo suburbs and a beautiful wife. Things couldn't seem any better for this prosperous doctor. However, events are about to take a turn for the worse.
  
  For starters, there is a plague that is running rampant in the slums, and many of his neighbors harbor resentment towards him, due to the fact that he treats the richer clients in the area. Soon, there appears strange smells emanating from his neighborhood residence. Further, a stranger has been spotted near his home. Some sort of doppelganger. Moreover, in a cruel twist, his father has been found murdered. And although the mother knows something, she too winds up dead not long aferwards. You get the feeling that this is some sort of horror film at first, however, things begin to move into another direction as the film progresses further along. It appears that the Doctor has a twin. His name is Sutekichi.
  
  Apparentely his twin brother was abandoned at birth due to a snake-like scar on his leg, and was raised by the poorer denizens of the town. Now, Sutekichi wants what he feels is owed to him. He shoves his brother Yukio down into a well near the garden, while sleeping with his brothers wife. However, there is a stronger connection to the wife and Sutekichi than meets the eye. This is a very strange and creepy film, and I liked every minute of it. This film may not appeal to all viewers, therefore, I recommend you rent the film first. I was surprised to see that there was only one other reviewer of this film. It is definitely worth the watch, and purchase. But once again, rent the film first. Highly recommended. [Stars: 4.5]
  Score: 4
• Posted on 2006-12-14
  Aesthetically stunning and possibly brilliant (I'm still not sure on the latter)
  
  Though the insanely overrated Takashi Miike has been getting most of the attention when it comes to cult Japanese cinema, the incredibly talented and underrated Shinya Tsukamoto is, for my money, the most fascinating Japanese director today. Each film of his is strikingly different, and yet anchored by recurring themes that prove, if anything, he is a true modern auteur.
  
  GEMINI is perhaps his most accessible film after the quirky and equally worthwhile HIRUKO THE GOBLIN. Perhaps the reason why it is not mentioned in the same breath as modern Japanese horror films like AUDITION (1999) and RINGU (1997) is because, once you get down to the nitty-gritty of the thing, it's not *really* a horror film. GEMINI, instead, is like a bizarre drama full of colorful, often stunning imagery, intense performances, and a sense of foreboding doom that few filmmakers are able to capture.
  
  The plot, inspired by a story by famed horror writer Edogawa Rampo, is about a young doctor from a financially secure family living in (I believe) turn-of-the-century Japan. He is married to a beautiful but oddly aloof woman and seems destined to a successful and happy career. Then, one day, strange things begin happening. Awful smells drift in from the local slums, his father and mother are found dead, and a disease-ravaged woman beats at his window in desperation during a violent thunderstorm.
  
  The plot thickens when the doctor is assaulted and thrown down a well by a mysterious intruder who is revealed (and this is not a spoiler) to be his long-lost twin. Naturally, the vengeful brother takes the doctor's place, starting with the seduction of his wife. But the wife may very well have a stronger connection to him than realized...
  
  To be honest, GEMINI was not what I expected it to be. I went in thinking that it was going to be an unsettling, creepy horror film...and for the first half hour that's what I got. But once the plot's main focus is revealed the film takes on a completely different tone and becomes something more akin to an acidic soap opera. I can't quite explain it; and, frankly, I'm not exactly sure if it works.
  
  That said, GEMINI is one of the oddest, most memorably deranged films made during an otherwise bland and unimpressive decade of moviemaking. And Tsukamoto continues to impress (his film A SNAKE OF JUNE is another must-see); one hopes that with the release of the book IRON MAN, his reputation--like Miike's--will continue to soar.
  Score: 4