Soseiji (1999)

Underrated gem from Tsukamoto Shinya; one of his finest!

It's a pity this movie is so underrated, because it is such an amazing combination of psychological + horror + fantasy.

The atmosphere draws you in instantly, with the way the characters look pale / sickly / inhuman, the almost dream-like cinematography, the haunting score, the darker night shots with a silence that leaves the viewer with a looming sense of dread that is to come..

At it's core, the story is simple. Two twins born into a rich household; one was abandoned due to a scar, and the other kept. Due to different circumstances, both grow up differently. The rich twin grows up gentle, with a prejudice against people from the slums. The poor twin grows up in the slums, using theft and murder as a means to survive. His life leads him to Rin, our female lead. They have a passionate relationship, and one day, the poor twin goes away promising to return. She is met with an ill-fate where she is almost raped and she burns the rapist's house as a result. She goes to the river to clean herself and the rich twin finds her in a naked state. He falls in love with her at first sight. Unknown to her, she assumes the poor twin is back. But soon she realises he is not the same man. She falls in love with the gentle demeanour of the rich twin, fakes amnesia and marries him. Soon after, the poor twin returns and locates the house that abandoned him. He vows revenge, but is filled with further hatred and jealousy when he witnesses his lover happy with his twin. He watches them and observes them. He then slowly kills his parents, and subsequently traps the rich twin in the well, and takes on his identity. He makes love passionately to the FL who then grows suspicious that this is the poor twin who has returned. She questions him about it, but he constantly dismisses her claims, and finally as proof, she strips his pants and notices he doesn't have the scar (she imprinted on him in the slums) and is led to believe that he is indeed the doctor. She is thrown into deep turmoil. After that confrontation, he goes to the well and realises the other twin has disappeared. One twin is killed, the other survives, and goes on to have 2 babies with the FL.

The question remains unanswered - who actually survived? Could be either.
It could be the rich twin who survived because there is a look of horror on his face after he kills the other twin. There's a realisation that he became the exact animal he despised.
But the ending scene with the man calling the twin an arrogant bastard, his face turns to horror as he watches him- as though he is aware that this isn't the doctor.

But that answer is not key.

Our director never dilly-dallies and cuts straight to the plot, and delivers in every frame. It isn't just the frames or the score, or the cinematography. Even the dialogue and themes he explores is rather thought provoking.

(1) People from the low class slums are presented and viewed as dirty, as inhuman. The doctor and his family have a clear prejudice against them. But what is interesting is that Tsukamoto Shinya depicts how regardless of that difference, both men brought up in very different classes have a desire and are capable of loving. Both are jealous; the rich twin despite being at the brink of death is occupied by the thought of his wife sleeping with another man. The poor twin despite wanting revenge and feeling betrayal, is consumed by the idea of his lover and another man sleeping together such that he devours her body the moment he takes on the identity.

(2) Animalistic behaviour of men; when it comes to survival, we become animals, and that's when we realise we are all cut from the same cloth. Both twins grew up in different circumstances, but are not very different when it boiled down to survival.

(3) The mental state of a woman torn between her ex and her husband - The FL really delivers a fantastic performance here in showing us her turmoil. Can she be blamed for the choices she made? No.

It's interesting how she recognises that this isn't her doctor husband through the act of sex. She notes that this man is more passionate, and doesn't finish in a minute, further highlighting how the doctor though taken in with her clearly couldn't give in to her fully because he wasn't aware of her identity, while this poor twin knowing fully well that she betrayed him, wants her entirely. There's a shot where he slides in his face under her arm (which is the poster for this film) and it's a very interesting frame - like he's conjoined to her and can't be taken away from her. That does make me wonder at the end - could he have died and have possessed the kind doctor?

There's probably a lot more that I want to write, but I'll leave it here for now.

All in all, this is a film worth watching. Despite being made in 1999, it is exceptionally filmed, and written. Highly highly recommend it!

Lire davantage