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ACTOR
Shin'ya TsukamotoYûko NakamuraCoccoEn Matayoshi
DIRECTOR
Shin'ya Tsukamoto
SYNOPSICS
Kotoko (2011) is a Japanese movie. Shin'ya Tsukamoto has directed this movie. Shin'ya Tsukamoto,Yûko Nakamura,Cocco,En Matayoshi are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2011. Kotoko (2011) is considered one of the best Drama,Horror movie in India and around the world.
The story of a single mother who suffers from double vision; caring for her baby is a nerve-wrecking task that eventually leads her to a nervous breakdown. She is suspected of being a child abuser when things get out of control and her baby is taken away.
Kotoko (2011) Trailers
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Kotoko (2011) Reviews
Personal, creative and devastating.
In a story that is co-written by its star, Cocco, we're also allowed into her personal life. The themes of this film are based on her real personality. Although it's very likely it goes to this extreme: Kotoko is a single mother that is suffering from an illness that gives her double vision. This double vision is not your typical optical issue, but more like an hallucination. It causes her to see two of the people she meets, and one of the two is usually the good or bad opposite of the other. The question is, which one is real? She has learned that she doesn't have double vision as long as she sings. But this is not something she seems to take advantage of. Because of this, she's terrified of letting her child meet strangers. Ultimately, this causes her to decide that they need to isolate themselves in the apartment. But after a big breakdown which causes authorities to think she is abusing the child, they take it from her and give the custody to Kotoko's sister. Kotoko is allowed to meet her child now and then, but things are not the same. Kotoko's inevitable downfall involves her harming herself more and more. This is where Tanaka (played by Tsukamoto himself) steps in. He found himself fascinated by Kotoko after hearing her sing on the bus, and begins to stalk her in hopes to get her hand marriage. After realizing she is deeply troubled, he is still set on getting her love, so he (obsessively) tries to help her through it. By letting her harm him, instead of herself. One of the opinion-dividing things about "Kotoko" is how much you feel that you have to understand about her. Her character is suffering greatly, but we're not fully being allowed into her mind. Personally, this made it all the stronger to me. As an audience, I quite enjoy feeling disoriented when dealing with mentally instable characters. It makes sense to me that you wouldn't be allowed to know it all. If you know how she thinks and how her illness works, you'll be able to figure out the consequences to actions in her surroundings. And that takes out a big load of the intensity that I get from "Kotoko". The moment we're forced to understand an illness, we're going to judge it accordingly. What Kotoko is suffering from is therefor a stranger to us, and it keeps it uncalculated. The visual style of Shinya Tsukamoto is on top in this one. The shaky camera feels a lot more appropriate here than in "Tetsuo: The Bullet Man" (one of the things I at times found annoying in that film) because it feels part of the journey. Wherein "Tetsuo: The Bullet Man" it probably served as a modern tool to make it intense, and maybe get away with some effects. Here it's to visually present what's in her mind, it seems. The cinematography overall is great in this one. Some shots are among his best to date. A quite experimental scene towards the end where the kid toys starts to "live" and move around Kotoko is incredible. Equally great are the hallucinations, even though they are kept a lot more realistic (often violent, though). You can rest assured that "Kotoko" offers some Shinya Tsukamoto trademark violence - quite over-the-top effects that somehow still remain realistic. It's what he does best. It's never as crazy as in the world of Tetsuo, and not as genre-bending as in "Toyko Fist". Rather it's exaggerated to make it more effective. And successfully so. The scenes of self-inflicted harm are pretty damn raw, while the scenes of a beaten Tanaka are more exaggerated. Then there's a scene towards the end that I think will work wonders with most viewers. Very strong and effective FX in "Kotoko" overall. How can I wait until the sixth paragraph before I get into the acting of Cocco? It's not the violence nor the visuals that keeps this so intense. It's the acting of Cocco. Her intense screams are especially harrowing and can bring a chill up your spine in some scenes. You simply want her to stop, because they're so chaotic and quite frankly built a feeling of angst and panic in me. Of course, her acting isn't great only because of the screaming, but that's one thing that I think will leave everyone slightly scarred. They also use her musical expertise as a painkiller for her character, and even though this is not really a musical you can expect lots of music. In contrast to her horrific screams, her singing is slow and beautiful. There is more to be said about "Kotoko", but I think I have to limit myself. Simply put, I really liked "Kotoko". Devastating, insane, intense and creative in a way that only Shinya Tsukamoto knows how. This is a lot more personal than many of his films, and one that I feel affects me more than most of them as well. Although it's not as good as his best work, I do think this ranks up high. Somewhere near "A Snake of June", I'd say. If you want to go through a series of tonal shifts, from depressing and sad, to violent, to semi-surreal and finally to almost comedic at times, then check it out. Shinya Tsukamoto remains on top! Full review, as well as more reviews at: www.FilmBizarro.com
It Grows On You
Shinya Tsukamoto directs this film about a woman with severe psychological disorders. It's evident early on that she has almost completely lost her mind because she engages in self-mutilation and hallucinates into seeing evil doppelgangers that do not exist. Tsukamoto has historically made films with somewhat bizarre yet fascinating characters and conflicts. Such is also the case here as he creates a very dangerous, uncomfortable environment for the protagonist's newborn child. The narrative becomes difficult to interpret at times, but this is well shot and oddly absorbing with a unique feel. There is some bloody violence and a few shocking scenes. This is a film that will be very divisive amongst viewers, but I found it even more impressive after a second viewing.
Provocative and Disturbing
I find it sad that this provocative, challenging film has such a low rating. This is a film about a serious subject (mental illness) that is portrayed through intense visuals and expressionistic performance. The director positions you so that you feel like you are inside the characters head and its a very distressing place to be. There is strong violence and the film is very tragic but there are also moments of beauty such as when Cocco sings and dances. Yes, the camera work is very "shaky" buy the purpose is to create a realism and disorientation as experienced by the character. If the film had been shot formally it would have lost its impact. This is not a film for mainstream cinema fans. It is a challenging and artistic piece of work that deserves serious attention.
Fantastic and enjoyable paranoia study
Tormented by frightening visions, a single mother who struggles to take care of herself and her newborn child realizes that the key to figuring out how to save herself is with a new relationship only to realize her madness hasn't left her and is always close to being fully unleashed on others. This was a fantastic effort with a lot to enjoy about it. One of the finest aspects of the film is the strength of the central character who has so much going on that she's worthy of being this kind of central figure. Being given such a strong personality, the film gets quite a lot of mileage out of her. The torment she feels trying to raise her child alone in the city causes such stress and frustration that she frequently daydreams about killing it to start her life over, so the peace and tranquility she feels being around her sister out in the countryside is a welcome relief contrasting with the cold city scenes. To top it off, she also struggles with an ability to separate fantasy from reality where she constantly imagines evil doppelgangers of those around her who often viciously attack her that forces her into a self-destructive pattern of self-mutilation and creates an overall frantic central premise here. Still, this one doesn't forget it's a horror film at its heart so there are plenty of fantastic scares here. These revolve around the doppelganger attacks which are striking and utterly haunting here with frantic editing, chaotic sounds blaring along through the sequence and a dark intent behind them rushing towards her, these scenes leave a strong impression with the feverish intent and frequency that they're featured in the first half. There's a brutality on display here with the way these occur which gives this a striking tone and feel that goes hand-in-hand with the madness she displays, which is furthered by the scenes of her cutting herself or the way she beats up those that try to get between her and child as this is quite the dark and frantic tale. While these here offer up plenty to like, the film does have a few minor issues on display. The vast majority of the film is a character study so those expecting traditional jump-scares or slashings will be disappointed. This takes it's time to tell this story, so although the horror scenes do occur and are absolutely stellar during those times, frankly the film doesn't have that much else going on. It still moves along well but it's mostly brief spurts of action followed by other scenes that focus on her madness and lost sanity so the action doesn't get featured here at all. This can leave the film feeling dull for long stretches of time to some which really is the main problem. Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Language and scenes of violence towards children.
Beautiful and ugly movie at the same time...
With all the praise and good reviews I had encountered for this movie, I was sort of excited and hyped up to actually get to watch it. And it was with a certain amount of excitement when it finally arrived from Amazon and I popped it into the DVD player. And now having seen "Kotoko", I sit here somewhat disillusioned. On one hand, the movie was rather good and enjoyable, but at the same time it was a disappointment and a lousy experience. Let's start with the good parts there is to the movie. The acting in the movie was quite good, especially the performance put on by Cocco (playing Kotoko). She really impressed me greatly in this movie, and her portrayal of a woman with these deeply rooted problems and issues was really moving and impressive. And she really carried the movie on her shoulders so nicely. The story itself is also one of the better parts of the movie, as it is a story that is deeply disturbing, but also a magnificent journey into the downward spiralling psyche of a woman with debilitating mental problems. That being said, then it should also be said that the movie is severely flawed and dragged down by some questionable and shoddy camera work. Throughout great parts of the movie, the camera was shaking and all over the place. Yeah, it did add an element of confusion and incoherency to heighten Kotoko's distorted view of the world around her. But for us in the audience, it was a nuisance and a moment of irritation. I don't pay money to watch a movie shot in a way that makes it look like something I could do myself with my own hand-held camera. The movie has some really beautiful moments, just as it does have some really disturbing and painful moments. There are some rather graphic images and visuals that may not be suitable for every one in the audience, and thus the 18 years of age label on the cover. But still, there are some issues in the movie that does raise eyebrows. "Kotoko" is a beautiful and yet ugly movie at the same time. But it just doesn't really manage to stand out in the Japanese market of movies, and as hard as director Shin'ya Tsukamoto tries, then Takashi Miike has done something fairly similar, just pulled off in a better way. If you enjoy movies that deal with the problems of the human psyche and the downward spiral of mental stability, then you might want to check out "Kotoko". It should be chiseled out once again, that Cocco was really the one making this movie watchable. I am rating "Kotoko" a 6 out of 10, mostly because of Cocco's performance, but also because the movie does have some strong, solid moments. But in overall, it just didn't manage to fully stand out on its own from many other movies on the market.