Being Koji Yakusho

Now, I don't really have anything against Richard Gere. He's probably a perfectly nice guy, and he wears his grey hair well. However, as I see the commercials on the tee vee for the remake of Shall We Dance, I can't help but pine for a future when Koji Yakusho is as well know in the States as he is in Japan. Koji originated the role of the stuffy businessman who discovers both ballroom dancing and love in the 1996 original. It's a lightweight movie, as I recall, but one that is helped immeasurably by its star's performance. Koji Yaksho has starred in several films by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and it was with great delight while checking out the (Japanese language-only) extras on the Doppelganger dvd that I saw the audience at what I assume to be the premiere screening don Koji masks. I bet this will never happen for Richard Gere, though the image of it in my mind does kind of freak me out a little bit.

For the record, Doppelganger is a lot of fun, perfectly paced and full of dark humor. The last half hour, especially, edges into that absurd realm inhabited by Kurosawa's Charisma and though this latest film doesn't reach those trippy heights, it still marks a bit of (relatively) easy-going relief after the glum but very moving Bright Future.