X
- 2001
- Not Rated
- Janus Films
- 1 h 51 m
- 2001
- Not Rated
- Janus Films
- 1 h 51 m
Summary Part atmospheric crime film and part philosophical meditation, this film follows a detective who is tracking a series of identical murders, committed under the same bizarre circumstances. (Cowboy Booking International)
Directed By: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Written By: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- 2001
- Not Rated
- Janus Films
- 1 h 51 m
- 2001
- Not Rated
- Janus Films
- 1 h 51 m
Cure
70
7.6
Summary Part atmospheric crime film and part philosophical meditation, this film follows a detective who is tracking a series of identical murders, committed under the same bizarre circumstances. (Cowboy Booking International)
Directed By: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Written By: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 Critic Reviews
70
85% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
15% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 Critic Reviews
70
85% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
15% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Takes the typical detective-hunting-a-serial-killer story and twists it into a creepy, enigmatic bit of psychological terror that by its final ambiguous scene leaves you truly chilled.
With its gift for infusing uneasiness into every frame, Kurosawa's moody, unnerving film continues to spook us even after the lights have gone on.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 30 User Ratings
7.6
87% Positive
26 Ratings
26 Ratings
3% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
10% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 30 User Ratings
7.6
87% Positive
26 Ratings
26 Ratings
3% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
10% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa constructs a captivating, complex universe in "Cure," and one that cannot be reduced to simple answers and established truths. On the surface, Kurosawa has seemingly constructed your standard procedural police thriller, but as the story slowly unfolds, it develops into a fascinating, perplexing psychological mystery. From the startlingly violent opening sequence, it's clear we're in the hands **** director in complete control of his medium, and who focuses on heightening the senses to create an atmosphere of trepidation. Kurosawa pulls his story in the opposite direction of a typical detective story, and brilliantly turns a routine thriller into a vehicle of social criticism.
The first half of "Cure" unfolds as a police-procedural. A wave of gruesome murders is sweeping Tokyo, and the only connection between them is a bloody X carved into the neck of each of the victims. A variety of unlikely killers are responsible for the slayings, all of whom have encountered a disoriented young man named Kunio Mamiya, played by Masato Hagiwara. He possesses a hypnotic effect on people, but has no apparent memory of it. His lack of memory appears contagious, and the eventual killers succumb to it as well. Detective Takabe picks up bits and pieces about hypnotic suggestion, a theory he tosses out early in the film, and it is also rejected by his psychiatrist friend, Makoto Sakuma (Tsuyoshi Ujiki). The trail of dead bodies, however, eventually leads to Mamiya, who's been held in a mental hospital.
The second half of the film involves Takabe dealing with his own emotional issues, and his wife who has a deteriorating mental condition, whose symptoms include an inability to recall recent events, and in this way she and Mamiya appear quite similar. This increases Takabe's frustration with Mamiya, as the boy's refusal to respond to simple requests reminds him all to well of the issues at home. Takabe would most likely be Mamiya's next victim, however, he does have one advantage that Mamiya's other victims didn't: his growing knowledge of Mamiya's abilities.
Just as Mamiya is hypnotically manipulating his prey, Kurosawa is also skillfully manipulating the audience, taking us into a world of uncertainty, and a slow descent into pure madness. Kiyoshi Kurosawa deserves credit for his unique visual approach, and his evasive approach to storytelling. He establishes a pervasive sense of detachment by utilizing barren landscapes, and filming scenes with isolated frames. Almost no music is present during the movie, adding to the feel of extreme isolation, and instead amplified everyday sounds create the tension.
Inevitably, the indefinable cure for the unconscionable murders serves as a tragic allegory for the emotional disconnect of our society. The film eerily presents the impersonal nature of our contemporary existence with extraordinary direction. Mr. Kurosawa constructs an elaborate psychological labyrinth, and then strands us in the middle of it, with no definitive way out. A master of disquiet, Kurosawa touches on the forbidden zones of our existence, exploring the unseen, and probing the unspeakable.
Report
Contains quite a few grisly and ghastly images.
The final scene is a piece of cunning visual wit that makes you realize how artful and sneaky Cure, has been beneath its clinical, deadpan surface.
The result is somewhat confounding, but utterly spellbinding.
Kurosawa may be considered the genius, but his movie would go nowhere without its extraordinary leading man.
It's more psychological than a genre movie, and that is the source of both its greatest interest and its biggest problem.
Awards
Yokohama Film Festival
• 3 Wins & 3 Nominations
Japanese Professional Movie Awards
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Tokyo International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
