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"X" and violence
The Japanese mystery thriller "Cure" features a killer who leaves his victims marked with an "X" — even after he's been arrested.
By ROBIN EISGRAU
Offoffoff.com
In this Japanese film, a mysterious young drifter (played by Masato
Hagiwara) hypnotizes people and compels them to commit grisly murders.
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In
each case, the murder victim is slashed with a large, deep "X" across their
neck and chest. The murderer always remains near the scene of the crime but
cannot recall what happened. The drifter's method of hypnotism is to ask
the subject questions about themselves — an innocent "Who are you?" is
the first step into the trap.
The detective investigating the case (played
by Koji Yakusho of "Shall We Dance?") is tormented by the drifter's hypnotic
abilities at the same time he is disturbed by his wife's downward spiral into mental illness
(she turns the washing machine on when it's empty, serves him a raw steak
for dinner and gets lost on the way home from the convenience store).
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When
the detective tries to interrogate the drifter, his questions are only met
with more questions, which frustrates the detective into a rage. Although the
drifter is in custody, the murders still happen and the mystery increases as
does the ire of the detective.
Tense and engrossing, "Cure" is an involving
crime drama and a moody thriller. The performances have depth and color:
Masato Hagiwara's drifter exudes a spacey pallor and Koji Yakusho's
detective has a hard-boiled broodingness which evaporates into a tenderness
when he is with his wife. The confrontations between the detective and
drifter are explosive and the ending may leave you scratching your head.
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JULY 19, 2001
OFFOFFOFF.COM • THE GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE NEW YORK
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Weird from Jordan, Dec 7, 2001
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