Very Cool!!!

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The police detective Kenichi Takabe (Kôji Yakusho) is investigating bizarre murders where the victims are brutally murdered with an X carved on the neck. However, each killer is immediately arrested and confesses the murder, but cannot explain the motives to kill the victim. Takabe is working with the psychologist Makoto Sakuma (Tsuyoshi Ujiki) and they are intrigued since the all the killers had contact with a stranger immediately before the murder. Takabe is a troubled man since his mentally unstable wife Fumie (Anna Nakagawa) is a burden in his life. When a physician kills a man in a public restroom, Takabe discloses the identity of the stranger. He is the intern of the hospital Kunio Mamiya (Masato Hagiwara) that had consultation with the doctor. Mamiya is a dazed and confused man with apparent loss of memory and his behavior affects Takabe. His further investigation discovers that he has studied hypnotism and is capable to input suggestion to kill in the mind of his victims. Takabe becomes obsessed by the case affecting his personal life and indicating that he is losing his mind."Cure" is a dark and gloomy horror film with a story of obsession. The plot is a combination of thriller, crime and horror genres with an open conclusion. The direction and the performances are top notch and the murders are gruesome. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): 'Cura" ("Cure")

Koji Yakusho stars as detective on the tail of a murderer who uses other to do his deeds.Mysterious killing is going around Tokyo, the method are similar but the suspects are all from different walks of life. Detective Takabe (Koji Yakusho) is on the tail of the suspect who he suspects is using hypnosis to make others kill. Him and his psychologist friend Sakuma begin to profile the suspect. Investigation reveals that the suspect used to be a psychology student and was studying about Mesmer.Koji Yakusho won the 10th Tokyo Movie Festival Male Lead award with this movie, and has become a regular in director Kiyoshi Kurosawa's movies since then.The movie has no punctuation point which makes it weak. There's only gruesome killing and unusual suspect to carry the whole story. There is nothing behind the motive, or why the suspect became what he is. This makes the movie fizzle without a bang that should have been there for such a mystery. A very dark movie that could have been lot better if the motive and the cause was better fleshed out.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa is slowly overtaking Takashi Miike as my fave current Japanese director (sorry, Ryuhei Kitamura). I waited a long time to see Cure and now that I have, I realize how brilliant Kurosawa really is. This movie is so dense, so packed with subtext and subliminal detail, you might not get it all in one sitting. I will admit I had to watch the ending about 15 times in a row, because it is extremely cryptic. There is plenty of ominous and sublimely creepy imagery, not to mention a Kubrick/Lynch meshing of style here. Don't be mistaken though, because Kurosawa's signature jet-black humor and obtusely enigmatic storytelling is in rare form here. If you enjoy just soaking in a well-structured story and not worrying about who the killer is or if there's some contrived twist ending like most Hollywood movies, then Cure will satisfy your need to be entertained and use that thing in your head called a brain at the same time.

A wave of bizarre murders are taking place in Tokio. The only thing that seems to connect the killings is an 'X' being carved out on all the hapless victims. Even the murderers themselves are unconnected and to each case a different suspect is being held responsible. Detective Kenichi Takabe (played by Kiyoshi Kurosawa's favourite actor Kôji Yakusho) is responsible for piecing this mind-warping puzzle together.Gritty, dark and immersed in shadows "Cure" is arguably the best serial killer thriller of the 90s alongside the much more widely recognised "7even". Initially a mysterious and captivating detective story unfolds into a dreaded voyage in the depths of the human soul. The amnesiac main antagonist constantly repeats the lingering question "Who are you?". Well - who are you? What defines you? Which sides of your life are the real you? Initially the question seems simple and straightforward and only as we reach the culmination do we fully understand the diabolic depth of Kurosawa's script. Evil in this movie is almost like planting an inception. It isn't something surreal or given at birth, but something that is planted into seemingly normal people. The idea of murder is not the work of outside forces, but a gist, a phase, a thought. And as such the horrendous reality of this simple concept will grip you more than a devil possessing your soul. Simply because their is so much truth in the seemingly obvious discovery.And unforgettable experience, that you won't want to repeat anytime soon. The movie lingers with its confusing finale, but further analysis just makes you focus on the true meaning of what just transpired. Like a psychiatric session gone awry it may be hard to quickly gather together after such a watch. Recommended watch following such a mind-numbing movie: Any romantic comedy, that will loosen up your soul and is guaranteed to offer a happy end.Dark and profound this mesmerising story is not one that will quickly dissolve from your memory. Probably by far Kurosawa's best movie, which is fortunately devoid of skin-deep social commentary of most of his other movies. Recommended watch for any Asian movie fan.