One of the most boring movies I've seen

Okay, I saw this comment sitting here a few days ago, and it bugged me, but I decided it was a waste of time to reply to it and went on my way. Today, it popped into my mind again, and I decided to post just to get it off my mind.

The first thing that bothered me with this comment was the fact that its author was watching the movie in an A-to-B fashion. By that, I mean that he started the movie with the sole purpose of finishing it, and once he had a general idea of where it was headed, he tuned out. Yes, Cure moves slowly, and yes, if you don't have enough of an attention span to appreciate the nuances a director can work in to a movie of this pace, then it's not for you. But that doesn't make the movie "stupid" or "boring." It just means you're not trying hard enough.

Maybe the standard Hollywood movie is meant to be a thrill ride - you know, switch off your brain for a couple hours and let the movie entertain you. I have no problem with well-done movies like that. I actually enjoyed War of the Worlds despite the serious plot holes and continuity errors, because I was able to see it as what it was - a summer popcorn flick. Cure is not meant to be viewed that way. In movies such as this, where the director has a message he actually cares about, he will try to engage the audience in a more intellectual way. The more you put in, the more you get out of it. Sure the movie's a bit of a slow burn, but can you honestly say that you paid close enough attention to it to pick up every detail and truly understand the director's message? I don't remember one line of dialog in this movie that was "trivial," as you stated, or didn't contribute to the overall message.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa has a very dark view of the world, and he's not trying to conform to yours. He's trying to present you with an alternate way of looking at life, at people, and at identity. If this doesn't interest you, don't watch movies like this. But don't post condescending messages about such films, it'll just make you come across as stubborn and close-minded.

Most psycholigical thrillers like these are VERY slow-paced, and that's what makes it good IMO. Majority of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's thrillers are like this,a nd yes, it CAN get boring at times, but when you finally solve the puzzle and crap, your view on the whole movie will probably change. That's what twists are all about.

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KOU SHIBASAKI FORUM
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We're all entitled to our opinions, so here's mine:

"Cure" is one of the most chilling movies I've seen in a long time. No Hollywood movie in memory even comes close.

You're entitled to your opinion. Just as I'm entitled to hate you and cry over the fact that many americans would probably agree with you.

A masterpiece, a work of genius—as if Abbas Kiarostami directed a thriller. Kurosawa is a master. The slowness only makes the movie better. Peace.

Everyday things happen every day.

I watched this movie back when I was about 13 - 14, and I absolutely loved it! Very interestin, tense and edge-of-seat entertainment. The mood of death and mystery seems to set everythin in place just fine.

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(Spoilers Ahead)

Lovin my guitar: “The plot became obvious near the start of the movie, but I was subjected to watching the detective try to piece together the puzzle for an hour later.

Reply: I don’t see how the “plot became obvious near the start of the movie.” In fact, it is my opinion that the true identity of the villain is revealed in the final frame of the movie.

In any case, I assume that your displeasure is in the fact that the hypnotist (Kunio Mamiya) was introduced less than 15 minutes into the movie as a main character. I disagree, and feel that Kunio’s early appearance offers some very compelling positives. First of all, we get to see HOW Kunio works. In fact, much of the movie was devoted to showing his various techniques. Second, the battle of wills between Kunio and the detective (Kenichi Takabe) becomes much more interesting. Third, the significance of Kunio’s apparently superficial questioning can be slowly revealed to the viewer. Fourth, all of the classic sequences in the movie (i.e., the lighter scenes, the water scene, the prison breakout scene, etc.) would have been impossible. There are more reasons, but the fact remains that establishing Kunio early on was a good idea.

Lovin my guitar: “Christ, EVERYTHING took FOOOOOOOOOOOOOREVER in this movie. Stupid things like him ordering coffee, or just talking to someone about something trivial.”

Reply: Your objection is understandable for some movies, but I cannot recognize much of it in Cure. Every dialogue where Kunio is involved is important. In fact, the length as well as the content is ESSENTIAL for Kunio to not only lull his victims into a false sense of security, but to also protect himself from being identified by police through questioning those whom he applies his powers of suggestion. It also benefits the viewer by supplying subtle hints to many of the themes present in the movie (i.e., identity, evil, etc.). This is just one example of apparently “useless” events that took “foooorever” to occur that in fact had very specific purposes that were integral to the storyline.

Lovin my guitar: “This is the last time I listen to you crazy people and your 'artistic' movies.”

Reply: Again, your objection is understandable if applied to movies such as Pistol Opera or Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams, but I do not think it applies to Cure. Making a film “artistic” does not necessarily make it a bad (or good) movie.

Movies such as Pistol Opera and Dreams are, in my opinion, exploitative because they attempt to use art to cover up their deficiencies. People say they are great movies because they are artistic. I say they are horrible DESPITE their artistic nature. This objection does not apply to Cure, as it uses an artistic style to support its acting, storyline, and messages, which are all great.