The Cure (1997)
"Cure" (original title)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Writers:

Kiyoshi Kurosawa (novel), Kiyoshi Kurosawa (screenplay)

Stars:

Kôji Yakusho, Masato Hagiwara, 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 Ohsugi	...	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 | criminal | hotel | 

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Taglines:

The power of suggestion.

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Cowboy Pictures [us] - synopsis, etc.

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese Spanish

Release Date:

8 July 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Cura

Filming Locations:

Shiomicho Hospital, Shiomi-cho, Choshi, 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:

Code Red, Daiei Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

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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Connections

References Fireworks (1997)

User Reviews

Disconcerting...

Kurosawa masterfully plays with the human psyche and its inherent need for explanation....

Although I'm a great fan of the way Japanese filmmakers tell stories , this movie was still quite a brain-teaser! In 'western' story-telling there's always a clear distinction between the good side and the evil side. In Japanese stories,this distinction is often more vague, which makes the story behave more like the real-world. If you seek simple amusement and a puzzle that is gradually but surely solved by the detective, this movie is not for you. The movie begins like a straight-forward serial killer story, but soon changes from a 'whodunit' to a more enigmatic 'HOW-dunit'.

The sometimes apparently random introduction of characters, events and clues to the story, and the way the personae subsequently derange from their expected behavior in the course of events, adds to the shock and never gives you any solid ground to identify and sympathize with the characters or to get a grip on the story. You have the feeling you're constantly put on the wrong track. You're brain is desperately trying to put the puzzle together but it's no good. Sometimes they find a clue that might solve the puzzle, but a moment later you realize they're on the wrong track, leaving you completely clueless again. 'Kyua' leaves you with mixed feelings: amazed, unfulfilled, puzzled, scared, disgusted, and everything in between. All you want to do is to watch it again and make sense of it all, in spite of the fact that you know that it's no good.