Sôseiji (1999)

A successful doctor, Yukio's picture perfect life is gradually wrecked, and taken over by his avenging twin brother, who bumps off his family members one by one and reclaims his lover who is now Yukio's wife.

Director:

Shin'ya Tsukamoto

Writers:

Shin'ya Tsukamoto (screenplay), Rampo Edogawa (short story "Sôseiji: Aru shikeishû ga kyôkaishi ni uchiaketa hanashi")

Stars:

Masahiro Motoki, Ryô, Yasutaka Tsutsui

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Masahiro Motoki	...	Yukio Daitokuji / Sutekichi
Ryô	...	Rin
Yasutaka Tsutsui	...	Yukio's Father
Masako Motai	...	Shige
Renji Ishibashi	...	Beggar Monk
Akaji Maro	...	Kakubê
Tomorowo Taguchi	...	Middle-aged Patient
Jun Murakami	...	Young Patient
Yukito Mizoguchi	...	Child
Eri Yu	...	(as Eri Yû)
Hisako Ohkata	...	Taki'e
Yuriko Hiro'oka	...	Toshiko
Yuki Inomata	...	Suzu
Sujin Kim	...	Detective
Hiromi Kuronuma

Storyline

Yukio is living a charmed life: he is a respected young doctor with a successful practice and a beautiful wife. His only problem is that his wife is suffering from amnesia, and her past is unknown. Things begin to fall apart, however, when both his parents die suddenly, killed by a mysterious stranger with Yukio's face. Only when Yukio confronts this stranger will the mystery of his identity, and his wife's past, be revealed.

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | twins | amnesia | violence | revenge | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

15 September 1999 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Gemini

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sedic, Marubeni, Kaijyu Theater

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A full-sized water well set with removable sections was constructed entirely above ground, for filming inside and from the "into" and "upward" perspective angles. It was about 60-70 feet tall.

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Connections

Featured in Malformed Memories (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Suisiei no kaiken"
Music by Teiichi Okano
Lyrics by Nobutsuna Sasaki

User Reviews

Ethereal, Brutal

A film of extremes.

"Tetsuo" and its sequel were ripping bouts of cinematic mayhem. This film, "Gemini", represents a stunning turnabout for the director who applies a sure, delicate hand to an unnerving mystery.

A doctor in 1910 Japan lives a seemingly perfect life; he is handsome, he is married to a beautiful (albeit perplexing and inscrutable) woman and he is a renowned doctor.

The deaths of his parents send the doctor down a spiral of madness and violence. His wife grows more distant and enigmatic. He loses his grip on reality but the nightmarish events seem to spring from his own hand...

Frequently the imagery is rigorously symmetrical, composed with a great deal of poetry and ethereal beauty. Many of the shots are masterpieces of Japanese design. The effect is like a spiderweb where all the strands are perfectly aligned and no two edges seem to deviate from the basic construction. Even in the most tranquil image, the director creates a sense of palpable menace, as though the air is tinged with the smells of blood and gore even though the shot may be of a perfectly kept garden.

On this elegant framework the director lays on stunning moments of violence and revelatory mayhem. Besides the visceral elements, there is a great deal of psychic violence in the film. The audience witnesses the mental descent of the doctor so delicately and precisely that it seems that we can see the hairs rising on the back of his neck.

An unsettling and very rewarding film.