Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Too much of everything

Redundant and unnecessary.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

This is quite an unknown film, in fact I know of no one who has actually even heard of this let alone seen it. Therefore, I'm braving new territory. I'm pleased to report that this is exceptional filmmaking. A young single mother suffers from a mental illness that enables her to see double, questioning what is reality and what is fantasy. Tsukamoto has achieved excellence with Kotoko. He is able to convey the solitude and disparity of a fractured mind with visceral filming techniques. The transition from slow camera movements to explosive shakiness (albeit over accentuating that movement slightly too much) highlights the violence that she suppresses and unfortunately succumbs to. There is self-harming. There are visions of horrific imagery that no parent (or anybody) would ever want to see. Yet, it's imperative that these are shown. The complexity of her illness makes her a liability, her eventual loneliness only worsens the situation and I believe it's important that the bloody violence conveys that raw emotion. You feel helpless watching her. Both the internal and external struggles of this rare psychological detriment are explicitly portrayed where all of your emotions are drained. This is a relentless drama, and I admire the personable perspective. A feature film debut for singer-songwriter Cocco who delivers an outstanding performance. There is a stunning one take scene of her belting out a melancholic song, and I was transfixed. She held my gaze, grabbing my eyes and refusing to let go. Just masterful. The loud piercing noises throughout increases the broken nightmarish reality that she lives. The story does lack some attention towards the psychological aspects of this illness, where certain scenes do feel slightly too ambiguous for its own good. Also, a vision involving her son towards the end was too violent. However Tsukamoto's heartbreaking drama remains grounded throughout and holds one of the best debut performances I've seen. It's not an easy watch, but do check this out and give it some adoration.

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.

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.

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.