Cure

It's really only the second time in the history of this blog that I go out of my way to talk about a specific movie (to be fair, I did recommend a few horror films too, and the first wasn't even a real Japanese movie) but I really think this one's pretty relevant to understanding modern Japanese culture. Well, possibly to a depth you don't really even want to understand it at, but all I'm saying is it's pretty relevant!
 Ever heard of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Cure? Few people have. It's not a recent film (1997's almost two decades ago now) but it's a good movie, a real solid psychological thriller/mystery. It's not the exciting kind like Shutter Island, but it's more of a really deep, interesting, brooding film that makes you sit down and think.
 I'm a fan of this guy's, really. If you want to dig deep into the mental state of the Japanese people (specifically the urban population) Kiyoshi Kurosawa's the way to go. Kairo (Pulse) which I've mentioned in the previous article, and Tokyo Sonata are two prime examples of his type of work. It takes a more sophisticated person than a Michael Bay fan, but then again, so does counting to six.
 But back to Cure!

Yo, I have to warn you, I'm not aiming to spoil the movie itself, but if it means anything to you, I will be revealing the movie's message (through some minor plot spoilers too). If you want to figure it out for yourself, go watch it before reading on!
Now, I haven't gone about reading a bunch of in-depth analyses of the movie, but here's my interpretation. I could be totally wrong, too, so bare that in mind!

The "Cure" in question isn't for laryngitis.

Before I dig in too deep, let me start by saying that Cure's basic premise is simple. A string of murders occur where seemingly ordinary people just suddenly violently murder people close to them by carving an X onto their flesh. Ghastly! Eventually, a detective comes to the realization that all of these people have been in contact with one person at some point or another.
The man in question is an individual with no memories, unable to even identify himself, and his sole means of making people murder one another is asking them one question repeatedly: "Who are you?"

 On the surface, it's got plenty of intrigue to keep the plot going, and that's nice and all, but I'm not trying to write a review of the movie. You'll find plenty of totally valid ones on the internet, but this blog isn't about that.
 Rather, think about the message of the movie, as you should with most of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's films. At one point in the film, it's revealed that the mysterious man's affinity in making people kill one another has to do with hypnosis.
 But you see, one can't use hypnotic suggestion to make someone do something unless it's something they were considering before! What Kurosawa is suggesting is that Japanese society is one choke-full of repressed desires. Whereas the rest of the world is fairly more open in their day-to-day dealings with people and various situations, Japan's world is one of keeping superficial appearances and bottling emotions beneath the surface in order to deal with demands imposed upon people by their status, or the desire for a higher status, which becomes the Japanese citizen's sole purpose. For instance, Americans, as we know, are more likely to speak their mind or resort to action than the much more reserved Japanese people.
 By asking people "Who are you?" repeatedly, the unidentified man opens the window to the other person's secret desires, or their true identity, and they then go on to murder the wife or boss they hate, unleashing the bottled up rage they've been keeping inside for so long -- because that's the true manifestation of who they are, and what they want to do, once the mask is cast aside.
 The chance to break free from society's expectations is the "cure" Kiyoshi Kurosawa is pointing to with the movie's very title.

Some people just don't like chairs.

 Well gosh, I didn't intend for this article to turn into an essay on the movie, so I'll stop there. But in getting to know Japanese society, even from a distance, as I have (and still am,) you'll find that it's a very valid, if harsh, critique of the modern Japanese person's condition and societal expectations.
 Go see it for yourself! If all else fails, you'll have seen a better than decent mystery movie!