If you have any questions regarding the film, or are left confused and unnerved, this video-essay will clear things up. I can't help but feel that this film has too small of a following for such an outstanding piece of cinema. https://vimeo.com/238019139 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLPiX-jUa6M&t=1s

Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to Akira Kurosawa) makes movies that some would describe as incomprehensible art house. It's true that they're short on explanations and feature long shots with ambiguous meaning, but they're still narrative movies, thrillers. Well, maybe I said too much as I haven't seen his movies other than 'Cure' and 'Kairo', but those two had a lot of similarities so I feel I've got some kind of grasp of his style.'Cure' is a story about hypnotism, but despite the name-dropping and exposition it's not meant to be a realistic portrayal of the practice. It takes the concept of hypnotism and uses it to scare the viewers, plants seeds of doubt, explores philosophical ramifications.The story is about a string of gruesome murders, where the suspect killed with no motive and can offer no explanations as to why they did it. Turns out there is a vagrant, a dropout student, who has an inexplicable power to turn men to senseless evil.What does this mean? The movie invites the viewers to draw their own theories. I see it as this twisted worldview where some people are above morality, above the mindless masses and able to manipulate them. It's a chilling picture.The movie is nearly colorless and light on dialog and music. It's slow, brooding and distressing.

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.