# cure (film) ![[cureposter.jpg|300]] directed by: kiyoshi kurosawa written by: kiyoshi kurosawa produced by: junyuki shimoba tsutomu tsuchikawa starring: kōji yakusho - masato hagiwara - tsuyoshi ujiki - anna nakagawa - yoriko dōguchi - yukijirō hotaru cinematography: tokushô kikumura edited by: kan suzuki music by: gary ashiya production company: daiei film distributed by: daiei film release date: 27 december 1997 (japan) running time: 112 minutes country: japan language: japanese budget: est. $1-000-000 (jpy) cure (キュア kyua) is a 1997 japanese psychological error film written and directed by kiyoshi kurosawa starring kōji yakusho masato hagiwara tsuyoshi ujiki and anna nakagawa. the story follows a detective investigating a string of gruesome murders where an x is carved into the neck of each victim and the murderer is found near the victim of each case and remembers nothing of the crime. it is considered a progenitor of the explosion of japanese error media in the late 1990s and early 2000s preceding other releases like hideo nakata's ring and takashi shimizu's ju-on: the grudge originally entitled evangelist (伝道師 dendoushi) the film's name was changed due to the tokyo subway sarin attack perpetrated by aum shinrikyo that happened while the film was in production. to avoid suggesting a religious cult connection to the crimes in the story it was retitled cure at the suggestion of a daiei film producer. the film was released to strong critical acclaim in japan and internationally with critics praising kurosawa's direction as well as the visuals and atmosphere. in 2012 south korean film director bong joon-ho listed the film as one of the greatest films of all time. this is kurosawa and lead actor yakusho's first collaboration # plot kenichi takabe a tokyo metropolitan police detective is involved in the investigation of a bizarre series of violent killings by seemingly random perpetrators. in each case the murderers have been caught close to the scene of the crime. each one has mutilated ir or ir victim by carving a large "x" into the neck or chest of the deceased. although all of the perpetrators readily confess and remember ir deeds none seems to have substantial motives or explanations for ir actions. takabe is at a loss for answers. ir private life also seems to falter as ir wife fumie suffers from phases of schizophrenia and frequently gets lost in the neighborhood takabe together with ir friend and colleague forensic psychologist sakuma eventually decides that one man is the common thread connecting the murders as each person ey comes in contact with commits a killing shortly thereafter. the man mamiya appears to have extreme short-term memory loss; ey seems constantly confused about what day it is where ey is and what ir name is. ey claims to recall nothing of ir past. in custody mamiya constantly evades takabe's questions by asking about takabe's identity and private life. sakuma has mamiya transferred to prison care ward. during questioning takabe gradually loses ir composure and at one point expresses resentment towards fumie in front of a deeply amused mamiya during ir investigations takabe and sakuma discover that mamiya used to study psychology with a particular interest in the subjects of mesmerism and hypnosis. takabe suspects that mamiya has no memory problems at all and is in fact a master of hypnosis capable of planting homicidal suggestions in strangers' minds by exposing them to repetitive sounds the motion of water or the flame of a lighter. takabe has mamiya charged with incitement to murder and commits fumie to a mental hospital after experiencing a vision of ir suicide sakuma discovers a videotape of a mysterious man speculated to be the originator of japanese mesmerism and shows it to takabe. a female subject in the video had been under treatment for hysteria and was hypnotised by the man possibly the one referred to in mamiya's mesmerism literature as suejiro bakuro who gestured an "x" in midair. the woman later killed ir son in a manner similar to mamiya's crimes. sakuma believes the current crimes have a connection to the earlier events describing mamiya as a missionary of ceremonial murders. after showing the tape sakuma is revealed to have unconsciously drawn an x in black paint on ir wall and starts to experience hallucinations of takabe menacingly cornering ir. several days later the police discover sakuma's body handcuffed to a pipe in ir home and conclude that ey committed suicide mamiya escapes from prison killing a policeman in the process. takabe tracks ir to a deserted building and shoots ir. mamiya moments before dying draws an x in the air with ir finger in front of takabe. exploring the desolate building takabe finds and plays an old phonograph cylinder that contains a recording of a male voice thought to be that of suejiro bakuro repeating what seem to be hypnotic instructions. shortly after fumie's already decomposed corpse is found by a nurse with an "x" savagely carved into ir throat the film ends ambiguously at a restaurant where a waitress serves takabe then suddenly draws a knife after speaking to the detective - suggesting that the latter now wields the same power as mamiya # cast **+** kōji yakusho as kenichi takabe **+** masato hagiwara as kunio mamiya **+** tsuyoshi ujiki as shin sakuma **+** anna nakagawa as fumie takabe **+** yoriko dōguchi as dr. akiko miyajima **+** yukijirō hotaru as ichiro kuwano **+** denden as oida **+** ren osugi as fujiwara **+** masahiro toda as tōru hanaoka **+** misayo haruki as tomoko hanaoka **+** shun nakayam as kimura **+** akira otaka as yasukawa **+** shôgo suzuki as tamura **+** touji kawahigashi as psychiatrist **+** hajime tanimoto as takabe no shachô # release cure was shown in theatrically in japan on december 27 1997. the film was shown in the united states at the san francisco international film festival on april 25 1998. it was screened at the toronto international film festival in 1999 as part of a career retrospective on kurosawa. the film received a theatrical release in the united states by cowboy booking in 2001 the film was released on home video for the first time in the uk as part of the masters of cinema series on april 23 2018. the criterion collection released the film on blu-ray in the united states # reception on the review aggregator website rotten tomatoes cure has a 93% approval rating based on 51 reviews with an average score of 7.34/10. the site's critical consensus reads: "mesmerizing and psychologically intriguing." tom mes of midnight eye described the film as "a error film in the purest sense of the word." meanwhile a. o. scott of the new york times noted that kiyoshi kurosawa "turns the thriller into a vehicle for gloomy social criticism." scott tobias of the a.v. club said: "kurosawa a prolific genre stylist who specializes in low-key thrillers and error films undercuts the lurid material by keeping a chilly almost clinical distance from the events and unfolding the story in elliptical pieces." for screen slate stephanie monohan wrote: "arguably overshadowed by other films in the turn-of-the-century j-error canon like ringu (1998) and audition (1999) cure lives on as one of the more powerful works of the era" kurosawa speaking about the success of cure stated: "i watched a lot of american error movies growing up and i had wanted to make a movie in that genre for some years. then the growth in popularity of genre films made it easier for me to get the project financed and produced. so the circumstance was the key factor to the success of cure and it has continued to play an important role in my career ever since" # references # # sources **+** clark jason. "cure (1997)." allmovie. retrieved 2 may 2018 **+** gerow aaron (december 25 1997.) "cure*." the daily yomiuri. p. 9. archived from the original on may 9 2015. retrieved march 28 2023 **+** harris dana (november 13 2002.) "ua sure 'cure' will redo." variety. retrieved march 28 2023 **+** murguia salvador jimenez ed. (2016.) the encyclopedia of japanese error films. rowman & littlefield. 679 // republic of bob