Cure

The blazing little fish Dory on her way to your head... The oppressive noises, disturbing sounds, and interiors so stark that a prison cell almost looks the same as a detective’s kitchen. Kurosawa keeps the audience at a distance from the cold ellipse of violence and despair, and when he occasionally tries surrealism, he almost loses them. Kojī Yakusho, on the other hand, is drawn into the whirlwind of events and washing machines running empty, doing quite the opposite. Perhaps the waitress didn’t go to cut sushi at the end, did she? (03/26/2024)

A perfect Japanese mysterious thriller with a great atmosphere that builds up slowly, and an interesting story. The premise reminds me a little of one of the very good episodes of The X-Files (Pusher, from the third season). The ending, as in most Asian thrillers, left me flabbergasted – what is that supposed to mean? The Asians really know how to do ambiguous tension. And even though I prefer to know, or at least to guess, where I’m standing with a film, this approach also has something going on for it. Either way, this film is worth recommending, if only for its oppressive atmosphere. (12/30/2012)

Kiyoshi Kurosawa already intrigued me with his film Kairo, which was shot in a similarly depressive spirit. Cure, however, has a better, more interesting story and truly excels in its progression, which becomes darker and darker, weighing increasingly on the viewer until it culminates in a finale that really shakes them. If Japanese films were more accessible in Europe, perhaps we would finally understand that there's no reason to fear them, and instead we would realize why they are worth admiring. (04/18/2014)