Cure

A serial-killer movie with supernatural overtones, "The Cure" soon reveals itself as much more: it is a meditation on identity and alienation, and how violence--both for perpetrator and pursuer--challenges our very definition of the self and our assumption that we can communicate meaningfully with others. Like Antonioni, Kurosawa uses silence, extended long shots, a slow pace and bleak settings to create an atmosphere where fragmentation of the self--and of the narrative--become inevitable.

Surprisingly compelling, despite the fact the narrative (literally) derails for effect... but the wreckage is as fascinating as the ride you've been on since the beginning. It went places I wasn't expecting it to go, and it's all the better for it.

Definitely cured my need for a slow burn wtf serial killer movie that makes less sense the more you understand it...in a good way. Like a vaccine it was made up of weaker elements of many crime serials and infected you enough to make you think you were in the midst of something familiar, but it is a whole different beast. Fascinating in a subtle way, like cured lardo.

One of the most scary things I have ever seen. Kurosawa reminds me of Cronenberg a bit in that his work feels genuinely dangerous. I am always a bit scared of what he is going to show me, but I cannot stop watching.

Incredibly atmospheric and socially relevant. The usual criticisms are largely unjustified if you're paying attention. Ambiguous =/= Inexplicable or Unconnected. Society is depicted as angry, hateful, and boiling under the surface. Identity and relationships are mined prior to hypnotism for a reason. The cure propagates as people's painful secrets are stolen away so that they may live peacefully, post-problem-purging. A lot happens, and is revealed, subtly in the last 20 minutes or so.

Not bad until the end, when it got all incomprehensible. There must be a mandate in Japan's film industry that your movie can't make sense. I don't mind things being ambiguous, but I'm sensing a trend here.

(ZERO MEMORIES OF MURDER)

Taut, stark, and wholly unnerving. Some might see it as slow or implausible or played out, but they're wrong so who cares about them; I'm talking to you, 'some'!

There's plenty of disturbing stuff to qualify it as horror, but it's a detective film in structure and I found it to be a very engaging one. It unfolds really well, captivating with a shocking and well shot intro and then steadily bringing in puzzle pieces as it all comes together. The concept being on the borderline between realistic and absurd heightens the horror for me, and is a lot more interesting than pure supernatural stuff.

Not really easy to follow at times but that's a feature, not a criticism. The general foreboding atmosphere and methodical nature really lends itself well to this because it plays so hard with psychological concepts. There are some really great shots scattered throughout and it goes that extra mile to establish its surroundings as something dingy yet memorable. Also, the ending is lovely and I didn't see it coming... yet it didn't overplay its hand, instead just allowing the viewer to mull.

Amazingly creepy atmosphere, note-perfect editing (one of those rare times when it's impressive without becoming intrusive), a beautifully paced and structured plot (one of the most compelling setups I've ever seen), and just a pleasure to look at from beginning to end. I did think the final two shots were a bit disappointing, with Kurosawa seemingly buying into the misanthropy of his villain, but it didn't lessen my enjoyment of the film overall. Curious about the rest of his work now.

One of the few thrillers that's actually given me the chills. Builds slowly but is hardly ever boring. Original and clever story too, although the ending is somewhat unsatisfying. Highly recommended.

the mutability of identity and myth of the self, the inadequacy of institutions, societal alienation and disconnection, metaphysical absence. this is a much better version of sono's SUICIDE CLUB; its crushingly nihilistic worldview may be just as facile, but kurosawa has an uncanny way of teasing horrifying emptiness and loneliness out of the mundane with these patient, dispassionate wide shots, use of negative space, and edits that trickle slowly down with paralysing inevitability.

Combines creepy vibes with disturbing and unsettling images. It's an effective detective thriller with substance concerning the moral bounds that keep us contained. Great direction, slow pacing, and ambiguity. It's cool.

I... did not understand anything about this

Complex and layered, the film plods along drawing only on eerie images and vacuous landscapes. Yet it's compelling. Somehow.

So typical to Japanese and Korean cinema. A non-mystery featuring a non-cop in a non-cat/mouse game with a non-killer. The dialogue is abysmal and there is nothing scary here whatsoever. Oh, and there's supernatural stuff. Cure has every cliche and it fucks all of them up.

Beyond it's horrifying ability to parallel the state of mind with character, lies the disturbing existence of our unconscious impulses. Amnesia becomes a wrecking ball as you piece things together, or believe you do.

Other than the ambiguous and difficult ending (or maybe even because of it?) this is a compelling crime/horror/detective film. Really fascinating stuff.

An aesthetic and tonal feast. I found myself particularly enamored with its manipulation of physical and mental space. The star for me, surpassing even the restrained cinematography and cerebral picture editing, is the immersive, growling textures of sound.

Let this film embrace you. The camerawork is way better than that of any modern film, and you have to pay attention to follow along.

Haunting psychological thriller about the limits of the self and what lies on the other side. Both leads are compelling as they circle eachother throughout the film before coming to it's violent conclusion. Leaves many questions about what humans are truly capable of.

A really good slow burn physiological thriller. The acting is pretty solid and the story makes you think. The ending or should I say the restaurant scene at the end has an implication that I didn't think worked.

As others have mentioned, Cure is somewhat comparable to Seven, although it has more 'intellectual ambition' and aims for social commentary. In some people's eyes this makes it superior, but for this viewer the self consciously arty elements frequently cancelled out the genre ones, resulting in a film that feels compromised even though it isn't. The drab stabs at Antonioni-esque alienation have also become too common in Asian genre cinema since its release, and some of the acting is bad.

had the makings of a decent pop psych thriller, but was just a bit too pretentious about it. shots drag on for too long, short pointless scenes are cut in between the important ones, the plot has no resolution... it's a bit of a mess, and the atmosphere isn't tense enough to work as a horror film as Kairo did.

phenomenal. one of the most crisp works i've witnessed on my recent sojourns to the eye-bank

Extremely creepy but with both of the Kiyoshi films I’ve seen so far it feels like they’re About Society in a way that has largely gone over my head

The basic story is pretty silly, so it's testament to Kiyoshi Kurosawa's skill that this is quite unsettling. His films have a unique feel, but whereas 'Pulse' becomes rambling and unfocused, this mostly remains creepy and suspenseful.

Definitely has a stark feeling to it. I dare say this was influenced by the dry, silent tone found in Le Samouraï. There's something about the binary dress code for salarymen that help add to the grey/bleak demeanour being conjured.

Good slow-burning psychological thriller. Has an air of uneasiness that gets steadily stronger. It is a bit like Se7en, which, from my perspective, hurts more than it helps, but I'd definitely recommend this to fans of that movie.

With some thematic and aesthetic elements (perhaps superficially) reminiscent of EPIDEMIC and THE KINGDOM, this exploration of identity and fragmentation also belongs to the cop-versus-criminal genre: there are quite a lot of those but few of any interest. The annoyingly slouchy mesmerist is an original and very well-done character, and the performances in general add greatly to the proceedings. Kurosawa's willingness to let films of this kind follow their own oneiric path is certainly a virtue.

The killer's weapon was hypnotism. The film was unusually drowsy and quiet to the point I took several little naps while watching -- despite watching it at two p.m., fully rested. I am going to go ahead and say I was engaged. The first thriller to engage me by putting me to sleep. Neat trick. Way to use tone to tell a story and help me relate by causing an unwanted physical reaction, there, guy.

I'm not sure I understood this movie, I'm unclear about the ending. Still most of it captured my attention and there are some good creepy scenes that are quite memorable.

I may classifiy this movie as more of mystery/thriller than horror, but it surely is creepier than common horror movies. It is a wonderfully executed mystery movie that keeps the tension the whole time, and has a perfect ending. But there is something that I cannot exactly pinpoint but makes me uncomfortable. Maybe it's just the part of me (or us) knowing that we may all turn into a monster with very little effort.

just a thoroughly convincing film, despite a premise that I'm not a fan of (society's SICK, mannn) which might mean i'm in denial, just like all the killer-victims in the movie

Many scenes felt pointless causing the movie to drag on and never really ever go anywhere. Didn't really feel like a thriller at all.

Undeniably accomplished but I can't help being strongly reminded of Fincher, in particular Se7en, and in turn the weird cult of edgy teenagers that absolutely worship this kind of thing as the pinnacle of cinema.

82.500

I liked the movie. It gets a cero for depictions of animal cruelty.

If David's Lynch and Fincher had a baby and named him Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Cure is one of the all-too-rare occasions when screenwriter Kiyoshi Kurosawa delivers a script worthy of director Kiyoshi Kurosawa. The two lead performances are magnetic independently and even more so when they both share the screen. There is a wonderfully ominous atmosphere and sense of tension that envelops the entire film, and the scattered moments of pure horror are well accentuated.

Boring and pointless. PSEUDO written all over it.

A young former psychology student goes around with his lighter hypnotizing people -- tapping into our everyone's killing instinct or something like that -- and making them murder and mark their victims with an X on their necks. A detective investigates it with an unspeakable obsession, only, perhaps, to get TOO CLOSE to true, invisible evil. Kurosawa's mise-en-scene is just absurdly poignant and harrowing. Distant, yet melancholy. Economic, procedural filmmaking at its finest.

It's smart, but ultimately very slow.

Kind of a more cerebral, less gleefully nihilistic Se7en, where a philosophical killer leads detectives down a pit of despair. Unflinchingly brutal but never excessive.

Inexplicable and fascinating. On a miasmic mass psychosis which seems to directly point the way toward Pulse.

Loved this so much more on rewatch. The subtle but exacting way Kurosawa tells the story is just perfect; accompanied with equally sharp shot selection and editing it might be my favourite serial killer movie.

2023'de #IzlediğimFilmler ; 175. Cure (1997) İzlemesi bittikten sonra sizinle yaşayan filmlerin hastasıyım. Çok geç izlemişim, defalarca izlemek lazım. 9/10

Some cool plot beats, was not as intriguing as I wanted it to be. Many profound moments and interpretations re: duality of humans in society.

It's an intriguing film. The tension is present throughout the movie but it almost has a calming effect with the slow pace and long shots. One could say that the ending wasn't satisfying but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way in a movie like this. I'll definitely enjoy this next time even more.

I mean good lord… I haven’t been this polarized or confused since I watched Perfect Blue. Some scenes still don’t make sense at all to me. Maybe I’m not smart enough for it… I still loved it though. I really love what Kurosawa did with the themes of humankind and how easy it is to slip, which has left me unsettled in a way I never thought imaginable. It’s also a gorgeous looking movie that’s extremely well shot with two powerhouse leads. It’s something you truly have to see to believe.

A great atmospheric, psychological horror film with sustained dreadful tension and a truly creepy performance by the villain, if you'd call him that. It's enjoyable trying to figure out what's going on and information is revealed at a pace that works well. It hardly lets you breath and is scary without a single jump, though there is some gore for those sensitive to that. Great film.

Wow hold the phone

There's certainly no shortage of things to discuss about this movie.