My conclusion

I think the whole concept behind ND is about regret, agony, fear and hope rather than what is clearly shown to us. Kyoichi's psychic ability reflects his deep depression caused by his dark past and horrible experience with his family. Each character represents a certain condition within the daily desperate life of the detective.

Kyoichi did not have any supernatural ability. Whatever happened between him and his mother had something to do with her personal issues and her marriage. She was in a condition so severe it made her lose her mind and began to hallucinate and attack her own son. Her mentality got worse and was haunted by false thoughts that her son is some kind of a mind reading freak.

Each of his family members resembled something. His father is hope, his mother is regret and self-blame and the victims of the nightmares were nothing but a portal for him to escape reality and punish his frustrating thoughts. The drowning sequences express his fear of water, as result of his mother attempt to kill him by choking him inside the water.

His whole life was enigma to all people, even himself in certain times of his life. At the end of the movie he is shown crying. The crying scene concludes the whole film. He finally realized the reality, overcame the illusion that his mother is still alive and tears dropped from his heart caused by the strong nostalgic feelings and sad memories.


great movie. 10/10