Cure (1997)
-
91% of critics liked it
(45 reviews) -
79% of users liked it
(5,108 ratings)
Oddball Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa directed this haunting police thriller about murder, mind control, and the power of charisma. Police Detective Takabe (Koji Yakusho) is tracking a series of bizarre murders, all committed in exactly the same manner: a giant X is slashed in the flesh of the… More Oddball Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa directed this haunting police thriller about murder, mind control, and the power of charisma. Police Detective Takabe (Koji Yakusho) is tracking a series of bizarre murders, all committed in exactly the same manner: a giant X is slashed in the flesh of the victims. But that's where the similarities end. In each case, seemingly well-adjusted people suddenly kill without understanding why. Baffled, Takabe consults his psychologist friend Sakuma (Tsuyoshi Ujiki), who finds no relationships among the perpetrators and rules out any connection with the media. The investigation eventually leads to a young drifter named Mamiya (Masato Hagiwara), who asks everyone he meets the same simple question: "Who are you?" Usually people respond with such stock answers as "doctor" or "police detective," to which the drifter responds with the same question. Part of Mamiya's reason for this bizarre behavior is that he has been turned inside-out; his interior world is completely empty. He has no memory, no identity, and he does not recognize his own self-image. Yet he does have an insidious, hypnotic ability to get inside the minds of others and unleash their repressed desires to murder. His victims' inability to answer Mamiya's maddeningly simple question shows their own tenuous grasp of their identity. Only Takabe seems to understand the other meaning behind Mamiya's query. His wife Fumie (Anna Nakagawa)'s own personality is slowly being destroyed by mental illness, making her act in increasingly inexplicable ways. Frustrated by Mamiya's sphinx-like ability to fend off the most rigorous interrogation, and yet drawn to his charms, Takabe undergoes a journey into the dark recesses of his own self, while slowly uncovering the secrets of the drifter's power. This film, which first brought international attention to Kurosawa, transcends the boundaries of its genre to become a riveting exploration of the collapse of identity in a postmodern age. It was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival as a part of the Director's Spotlight. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Directed By
- Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- Written By
- Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- Genres
- Drama, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Apr 25, 1998 Wide
- Studio
- Cowboy Pictures
Critic Reviews
-
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
It's unsatisfying as a story precisely because it aspires to create a mounting sense of dread by enlarging questions rather than answering them.
-
David Rooney, Variety
Tone and atmosphere mirror subject to perfection in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's hypnotic trip into the lower depths of the human mind.
-
, Time Out
It's well enough acted and directed to advance Kurosawa's claim to be taken as an important new voice in Japanese cinema.
-
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News
Tough to shake even when it feels more like an exercise than a movie.
-
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
A fascinating artifact as well as a most engrossing thriller.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Currently unavailable on Flixster
Also available on
Other Retailers
Not Available
Not Available
Not Available
Subscription Services
Not Available
Not Available
Not Available
Cast
-
Koji Yakusho
as Kenichi Takabe
-
Tsuyoshi Ujiki
as Shin Sakuma
-
Anna Nakagawa
as Fumie Takabe
-
Masato Hagiwara
as Kunihiko Mamiya
