MAKSQUIBS CINEMATHEQUE: CURE (1997)

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Monday, October 12, 2020

CURE (1997)

Stunningly accomplished police procedural, steeped in horror genre tropes by writer/director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, a serial killer story without a serial killer. In his place, an unsettling young man auto-suggesting murder to strangers he comes in contact with. Speaking in a circuitous manner to throw back any question with a question of his own, he’s interlocutor as devil, inspired by 18th century hypnotist Franz Mesmer. Shot in a manner that mimics his maddening calm, Kurosawa (no relation to you-know-who) thankfully only gets metaphorically under your skin, his steady cinematic gaze seconding the vague replies of Masato Hagiwara as the mesmerizing murder coach and accentuating the frustration of police dick Kenichi Takabe, struggling with personal problems from his wife’s deteriorating mental health. And with everyone auto-susceptible to suggestions of unspeakable acts (beware puddling liquids), whom to trust?; how to move the case forward?; how many places to watch at the same time?; protect yourself or your loved ones? Even when the plot doesn’t quite cohere (some paranormal transfers-of-intent unconvincing or perhaps lost in translation), Kurosawa’s immaculate technique gets you there another way.

DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: Bong Joon Ho, a big fan of this film, reached full maturity with his daringly buoyant serial killer film MEMORIES OF MURDER/’03. OR: Orson Welles as a former protegee of Dr. Franz Anton Mesmer in the entertaining twaddle BLACK MAGIC/’49. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2015/07/black-magic-1949.html

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Monday, October 12, 2020

CURE (1997)

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