Cure

The bodies of a number of prostitutes who have been brutally murdered are found in Tokyo. All the murders have one thing in common – each victim has been slashed with a large “X” across their body. Detective Takabe (Koji Yakusho) and psychologist Sakuma (Tsuyoshi Ujiki) are called in to figure out the connection but their investigation Goes nowhere. Takabe’s irritation at the investigation’s slow progress is intensified by his problems in his personal life, his wife Fumie’s (Anna Nakagawa) growing mental illness.

Meanwhile the police hold a young drifter (Masato Hagiwara) in custody, not knowing his connection to the crime. When the drifter’s name finally appears on police reports as a suspect, he is identified as Kunihiko Mamiya, a former medical student who may possibly have hypnotic powers. At this point, this mysterious story takes quite an unexpected turn as we take a close at what happened to Mamiya while in medical school.

Cure is a landmark film in the career of Kiyoshi Kurosawa, bringing him wide international acclaim.