The Cure (1997)

A frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.

Director:

Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Writers:

Kiyoshi Kurosawa (novel), Kiyoshi Kurosawa (screenplay)

Stars:

Masato Hagiwara, Kôji Yakusho, Tsuyoshi Ujiki

9 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kôji Yakusho	...	Kenichi Takabe
Masato Hagiwara	...	Kunio Mamiya
Tsuyoshi Ujiki	...	Makoto Sakuma
Anna Nakagawa	...	Fumie Takabe
Yoriko Dôguchi	...	Dr. Akiko Miyajima
Yukijirô Hotaru	...	Ichiro Kuwano
Denden	...	Oida
Ren Ôsugi	...	Fujiwara
Masahiro Toda	...	Tôru Hanaoka
Misayo Haruki	...	Tomoko Hanaoka
Shun Nakayama	...	Kimura
Akira Otaka	...	Yasukawa
Shôgo Suzuki	...	Tamura
Toshi Kato	...	Psychiatrist
Hajime Tanimoto	...	Takabe no shachô

Storyline

A wave of gruesome murders is sweeping Tokyo. The only connection is a bloody X carved into the neck of each of the victims. In each case, the murderer is found near the victim and remembers nothing of the crime. Detective Takabe and psychologist Sakuma are called in to figure out the connection, but their investigation goes nowhere. An odd young man is arrested near the scene of the latest murder, who has a strange effect on everyone who comes into contact with him. Detective Takabe starts a series of interrogations to determine the man's connection with the killings.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | investigation | interrogation | slasher flick | neo noir | 

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Taglines:

With just one word, you will do anything.

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

12

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese Spanish

Release Date:

8 July 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cure

Filming Locations:

Shirasato Beach, Shirasato, Chiba, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

JPY 1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$3,879 (USA) (6 July 2001)

Gross:

$94,596 (USA) (7 December 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daiei Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a poll conducted by Sight and Sound, South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer, the Host, Memories of Murder) listed Cure in his top ten favorite films of all time.

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Goofs

In Japan, they drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. In every scene in this picture that's the case - except one. When the detective leaves in his car to go to the hospital because Mimiya has turned up there, the steering wheel is on the left and he drives on the right side of the road.

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits, with the exception of the movie's title.

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Connections

References Fireworks (1997)

User Reviews

Subliminal to Visceral and back

A delicate, yet exceptionally gorey murder mystery from Japan. Truly so psychological, that I'm still not sure what might have been real and what might have been a Jungian chase through the house of a man's mind. The images bleed from the mundane and sterile to the nightmarish with such subtlety and grace, that I began to question the reality of the simplest scenes.

The film is as dreamlike and subliminal as the villain it chases. Not really a thriller, though I had no clue what might happen to who next. Not really suspenseful, though I couldn't look away in fear of missing a detail. It is DELIBERATELY PACED, which might put off the typical murder mystery fan. However, if you just sit back and stare into the light, as do the hapless victims of the film, you will find it to be an unnerving experience.