--- title: "Cure" year: 1997 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/cure" fi1m_id: "cure" imdb_id: "tt0123948" tmdb_id: 36095 wikidata_id: "Q1144476" fi1m_score: 85 critics_score: 75 critics_reviews: 4 published: "2026-10-05T04:26:48.765090+00:00" updated: "2026-10-05T04:26:49.200408+00:00" region: "BR" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Cure (1997) Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa · 1h 51m · ClassInd 14 · Horror, Mystery, Crime, Thriller ## Identity Cure - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/cure - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** cure - **IMDb ID:** tt0123948 - **TMDB ID:** 36095 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1144476 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0123948/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/36095, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1144476 **Fi1m score: 85** · Critics 75 (early) from 4 reviews *In a sentence:* A murder investigation where getting people to confess is the least helpful part > Kiyoshi Kurosawa makes police interviews frightening, with Koji Yakusho holding steady as the questions stop helping. We recommend this patient, disturbing thriller, though its repeated evasions will test anyone who wants an investigation to produce clear answers. ## Synopsis In Tokyo, detective Kenichi Takabe (Koji Yakusho) investigates murders whose victims bear the same X-shaped wound. Different people confess, but none can explain why they killed. With help from Makoto Sakuma (Tsuyoshi Ujiki), he looks for a connection between the cases. Elsewhere, Kunio Mamiya (Masato Hagiwara) turns up on a beach, apparently unable to remember his past. He accepts help from strangers, then keeps asking them who they are. The detective has to establish what links the killings when identifying the people responsible has brought him no nearer to understanding them. ## Review Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s *Cure* is a frightening crime thriller, worth the evening if you can accept how little it explains. Different people commit murders marked by the same X-shaped wound, then seem unable to explain why. Kenichi Takabe (Koji Yakusho) has confessions, suspects and bodies, yet none of them brings him much closer to understanding what has happened. Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s screenplay keeps the investigation moving while making each ordinary police question sound a little less useful. Koji Yakusho gives the detective a weariness that makes the familiar business of interviewing suspects worth watching. His patience looks like something maintained through effort, and irritation keeps showing through. Masato Hagiwara plays Kunio Mamiya with a vagueness that makes it difficult to decide how much he understands or why he needs the same information again. We felt anxious during their exchanges because the repeated questions about identity gradually prevent the detective from doing the questioning. Tokushō Kikumura often keeps the camera back, holding people and the empty space around them in view. The plain framing gives us time to inspect a room without help from a close-up telling us where the threat lies. Tomoyuki Maruo’s drab institutional interiors make that scrutiny unrewarding in a useful way: there is little here that looks specially built for a horror film. That makes it harder to dismiss the conversations as things that could only happen in a horror film. Kan Suzuki’s editing allows a conversation to continue beyond the point where it seems likely to produce anything useful. The delays make Masato Hagiwara’s evasions irritating as well as troubling, which matters when we are watching a detective trying to remain professional. Gary Ashiya’s sparse score leaves room for ambient sound to become oppressive; the mechanical noise can hold our attention as firmly as a voice. The sound keeps us alert even when the camera appears to be doing little. There are stretches where that patience wears thin. At 111 minutes, *Cure* sometimes repeats an exchange after we have understood how it will frustrate the person asking the questions. The evasiveness begins to feel rehearsed, and we wanted the investigation to move on. Tsuyoshi Ujiki, as Makoto Sakuma, brings welcome seriousness to the search for an explanation, but further discussion cannot always make a familiar question disturbing again. As a serial-killer thriller, it offers little of the usual satisfaction of watching an expert take charge. Kiyoshi Kurosawa knows that a competent detective can be interesting without being reassuring, and Koji Yakusho makes competence look exhausting. The questions concern acts of violence, but the behaviour we watch is often unremarkable: impatience, uncertainty, a failure to listen. We recognise enough of it to stay involved when the investigation becomes harder to follow. Give it an evening when the silences will not have to compete with conversation on the sofa. The slow exchanges need attention, and the film offers little relief from them. Leave something undemanding for afterwards. *Fi1m score 85, published 5 October 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Cure worth watching?** *Cure* is worth watching for patient crime-thriller viewers who can accept unanswered questions; we score it 85 out of 100. We found its police interviews frightening because repeated questions gradually undermine the detective’s control. The performances and oppressive sound reward close attention, though some exchanges repeat beyond their usefulness and the investigation offers little reassurance. **How long is Cure, and what is it rated?** *Cure* runs 1h 51m and is rated 14 by the ClassInd in Brazil. It is a horror and mystery film. **Where can I watch Cure in Brazil?** *Cure* is not on any streaming or rental service in Brazil at the moment. It is available in 3 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is Cure, and is it suitable for children?** *Cure* has a UK 15 certificate and is not suitable for children, with a murder investigation involving victims marked by an X-shaped wound. We find it frightening particularly for its unsettling conversations, oppressive sound and lack of relief. The certificate allows viewers aged 15 and over, but its sustained anxiety makes it a difficult choice for anyone sensitive to psychological horror. **How does Cure compare to The Vanishing?** *Cure* is the better choice for an unsettling police investigation, while we favour [*The Vanishing*](https://film.one/film/the-vanishing) for a more exact disappearance mystery built around watching the perpetrator prepare. Both make ordinary encounters frightening and sometimes test our patience. *Cure* frustrates the search for explanations; *The Vanishing* identifies the abductor early and draws fear from observing him. **What should I watch after Cure?** After *Cure*, try [*The Vanishing*](https://film.one/film/the-vanishing) (1988, Fi1m 88): A patient disappearance mystery that makes an ordinary encounter feel horribly unsafe. Then [*Memories of Murder*](https://film.one/film/memories-of-murder) (2003, Fi1m 91): Another investigation where exhausted detectives struggle to make the evidence behave sensibly; and [*The Conversation*](https://film.one/film/the-conversation) (1974, Fi1m 92): Careful listening becomes a dangerous habit in this anxious study of surveillance. ### Reviews we read (4) - **Slant Magazine**, Jake Cole (4/5): Cole praises the film’s haunting, deliberately elusive style and calls the Criterion release a superb transfer. He singles out the clear image and well-balanced sound mix for preserving the film’s murky look and subtle unease. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/cure-blu-ray-review-kurosawa-kiyoshi/) - **Little White Lies**, Anton Bitel (75/100, inferred): Bitel finds the film an entrancing, chilling exploration of repression and nihilism. He praises Kurosawa’s plain, unfussy visual style for making the story increasingly hallucinatory. [Read](https://lwlies.com/home-ents/cure-kyua-review) - **Time Out**, TR (64/100, inferred): The page identifies this as a film review, but its verdict is unavailable. No praise or complaint can be determined from the accessible text. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/cure) - **Eye for Film**, Angus Wolfe Murray (85/100, inferred): The critic argues that Kurosawa gives fresh life to the serial-killer thriller. He praises the film for avoiding familiar cinematic signposts and creating a dark atmosphere of madness. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/cure-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) ## Details - **Director:** Kiyoshi Kurosawa - **Director:** Kiyoshi Kurosawa - **Screenplay:** Kiyoshi Kurosawa - **Cinematography:** Tokushō Kikumura - **Editor:** Kan Suzuki - **Music:** Gary Ashiya - **Production design:** Tomoyuki Maruo - **Costume design:** Ryûsui Morita, Hiroshi Kotô - **Producer:** Satoshi Kanno, Tsutomu Tsuchikawa, Tetsuya Ikeda - **Cast:** Koji Yakusho as Kenichi Takabe; Masato Hagiwara as Kunio Mamiya; Tsuyoshi Ujiki as Makoto Sakuma; Anna Nakagawa as Fumie Takabe; Yukijiro Hotaru as Ichiro Kuwano; Yoriko Dōguchi as Dr. Akiko Miyajima; Denden as OIda; Ren Osugi as Fujiwara - **Runtime:** 1h 51m - **Certificate (ClassInd):** 14 - **Release (Brazil):** 6 January 2004 - **Genres:** Horror, Mystery, Crime, Thriller - **Budget:** $20,000 - **Box office:** $234,821 - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4ax7CNt4ag ## Where to watch in Brazil Not streaming, renting or buying in Brazil at the last check. Also available in: AU, ES, JP. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Vanishing* (1988), Fi1m 88: A patient disappearance mystery that makes an ordinary encounter feel horribly unsafe — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-vanishing.md) - *Memories of Murder* (2003), Fi1m 91: Another investigation where exhausted detectives struggle to make the evidence behave sensibly — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/memories-of-murder.md) - *The Conversation* (1974), Fi1m 92: Careful listening becomes a dangerous habit in this anxious study of surveillance — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-conversation.md) - *The Headless Woman* (2008): Uncertainty about one incident quietly poisons every comfortable room that follows - *Pulse* (2001): Kiyoshi Kurosawa finds further reasons to fear empty rooms and ordinary technology --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/cure