Kurosawa's other famous film, Pulse, seems to get lots more love, as well as the ubiquitous crappy American remake. Cure, in my opinion, is a Kurosawa's true masterpiece, up to now. Cure is a serial killer procedural that, at first, seems to hold lots of similarities to American movies like Se7en and Silence of the Lambs. We are introduced to inspector Kenichi Takabe (played by Koji Yakusho of Tampopo) as he investigates a series of baffling murders characterized by victims who have large "x's" carved into their flesh. The twist is that the murder of each victim is quickly found and seems to have no memory of the crime and also seems to be genuinely remorseful of the act. In addition, each murder is evidently carried out by a different person.
We are introduced to a strange and unemotional amnesiac played by Masato Hagiwara. As the film slowly unfolds, we see the troubled relationship between the inspector and his wife also unravel. We find that strange relationships develop between each killer and the drifter. We find that hypnotism and evil both have some sort of bearing on the matters at-hand. Kurosawa lets all of the strange event reveal themselves in a very deliberate, hypnotic pace that pulls the viewer into a creepy, dream-like world. It's as if Kurosawa wanted to direct Silence of the Lambs through the lens of David Lynch. The finale of this movie is subtle and ultimately devistating. This is one that certainly deserves more than one viewing in order to fully absorb all of the levels at work here.
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