The story is set in Japan in 1910. Yukio is a famous and well-renowned doctor, having served in the recent war (the Russio-Japanese war, I think). He lives with his wife, his parents, and his assistants and servants. His wife is odd, very withdrawn and quiet, suffering from amnesia unable to remember her past before meeting Yukio, and unwilling to even try to remember. Their relationship is somewhat repressed, as Yukio feels forever in the shadow of his parents, never wanting to risk offending their sensibilities. Being famous, Yukio is very much at the beck and call of the local wealthy people, ignoring the slum town that lies below his picturesque home, a beggar outside his gates berates him every time he goes past. His allegiances are further shown when in the middle of the night a poor woman and her children who are suffering from the plague comes to his door begging for help, while at the same time a messenger from the local mayor arrives to ask Yukio to come help the mayor, who had seriously injured himself. He leaves the plague-stricken paupers with his assistants and goes to help the mayor.

However Yukio's life is soon to start falling apart. His father is found dead, seemingly by natural causes but local officials are left highly suspicious. Yukio's wife is also starting to become more and more distant, much to Yukio's confusion. A few nights later, his grieving mother wanders the house in the middle of the night, only to discover an intruder. The intruder is filthy but wear's colourful robes, the mother's surprise seemingly turns to one of horror when the intruder reveals a large smake-like black scar running up his left leg. Yukio finds his mother dead the next day. Yukio's world is plunged into deeper misery still, when in his garden he is attacked by another intruder, who casts him into a well. What makes it all the more disturbing is that his attacker is looks and dresses exactly like him.

Unable to escape from the well (his attacker must never have seen Ring) Yukio is helpless as this stranger takes over his life, bringing food to him every night and furiously mocking him. The impostor closes Yukio's surgery to withdraw himself from suspicion, and wastes little time in becoming intimate with Yukio's wife. The reasons for this impostor's actions, and the mysteries of Yukio's wife's past slowly unfold in flashbacks and intense scenes of dialogue, while Yukio slowly starts to lose his sanity at the bottom of the well.

I saw Gemini before the cult favourite Tetsuo, perhaps this was fortunate as I went into this film with few preconceptions regarding his previous work. When considering the visceral, violent, and nightmarish experience created by Tetsuo, it is extremely difficult to believe that both films were both by the same director. Tsukamoto seems to have made Gemini in some ways the antithesis of his previous famous work, Gemini is a slow-burning, atmospheric and intense thriller with very little violence and extremely accomplished and human performances from the cast. Being set in 1910, the look of the film is very distinctive, the women wearing their hair in what can only be described as large discs on the top of their head. Yukio's house is very traditional, paper walls, and very darkly lit. Most of the scenes in his house are really quite eerie, the oil lanterns used shedding an orange haze over the scenes. The atmosphere is helped in these situations, especially when combined with total silence between the characters, where you find yourself wondering what the characters are thinking. Also of note is Chu Ishikawa's sparse and haunting soundtrack. Using music extremely sparingly, the repetitious nature of it can be very unsettling and adds even more atmosphere to the piece.

I simply must single out the excellent performance of Masahiro Motoki in the dual roles. As both characters, Motoki is absolutely superb. His kind, mild-mannered Yukio is fabulous, showing his discomfort when in the presence of his father, and showing almost a shyness when with his wife. In the meatier role as Yukio's doppelganger however, he is utterly compelling. The depth of character is excellent, showing a calm façade behind which hides a far more unhinged and dangerous personality which is let out through the crazed screaming at the trapped Yukio.

This really is a quite extraordinary film, made even more so when you consider Tsukamoto's other movies. Where Tetsuo displayed deranged visual excesses, this shows great restraint and an emphasis on mood and atmosphere, where Tetsuo had over the top and bizarre performances from its cast, Gemini shows character depth and how effective it can be just watching actors sit in complete silence. Gemini has its violent and frantic moments which show Tsukamoto has not mellowed out by any means, but these serve as startling contrasts to the remainder of the film, and showing the venting of the insanity brewing inside the characters.

Full to the brim with sinister atmosphere, and superbly executed in just about every way possible, this really is a must-see thriller. A fine example of the originality and quality of Far Eastern cinema that Hollywood is sorely lacking, and well worth the effort to seek out and experience.