Kotoko

Kotoko is a confused single mother who sees terrifying people and situations everywhere. The only way she can control her fears is by singing. Because she is afraid she will hurt her baby during psychotic nightmares, she cuts herself to prove she is still experiencing reality. In one of her delusory moments, she stands on the roof with her helpless child in her arms. What if she lets go? It isn’t long before she is forced to give up her child. During her contact with a writer, Kotoko’s crises increasingly lead to violent scenes, leaving us wondering whether they are real or part of her gruesome nightmares.
This psychological horror drives you mad and with themes such as alienation and loss of control, fits perfectly in the oeuvre of the Japanese cult director Tsukamoto (Tetsuo). Although this consciously chaotically filmed drama is not suitable for the faint-hearted, Kotoko - with the powerful Japanese singer-songwriter Cocco in the title role - is not only terrifiying but heartrendingly tragic.