cure

taken in doses of uneven twelves;
prescriptions of pain;
in bottles;
on shelves;
swallowing daily;
a sickness, the cure;
the taste for the healing;
polluting the pure;
a mind will be free;
of the filth that you hide;
the emptiness stays;
and is all left inside;
cure for this

mind;

In the 1960's, crime and anarchy were growing in the United States despite the best efforts of police. Therefore the President, usually described as "young" or "now dead" and understood to be JFK, recruited a few dependable, patriotic men to form an agency that would work in secret, outside the laws. Named CURE, ("a prescription, not an acronym") the agency was to uphold the ideals of the Constitution without being hampered by its Articles.

Dr. Harold W. Smith was chosen from the CIA to be the brains of CURE. From his cover as director of Folcroft Sanitarium in Rye, New York, he runs a vast network of information gatherers who either submit observations anonymously in return for cash or who already work for other government organizations and unknowingly report to CURE as well. Smith has also acquired a large computer system to help him harvest and digest information from around the world.

The "enforcement arm" of CURE is ex-cop Remo Williams, codenamed The Destroyer, who has been trained by Chiun, Master of Sinanju, to be the world's second-most deadly assassin. Originally, Chiun was hired to teach Remo just enough of Sinanju to serve CURE's needs, but when Remo showed amazing aptitude, Chiun managed to extend his contract.

Each new President is informed of CURE's existence soon after inauguration. Although the President cannot control the organization (to prevent political misuse), Smith occasionally accepts requests for action. Smith decides what threats are suitable for CURE's intervention and then sends Remo to take care of them. Inevitably, swift death descends on the evildoers. To maintain secrecy, anyone who learns of the organization becomes a target.

CURE was supposed to last only a few years, until chaos had been subdued, and then disband. However, due to unforeseen global changes (and the ever-increasing loyal fan base), its mission has continued for decades. Smith grows old at his desk and there has never been a plan for succession, so it is unclear how much longer CURE will continue.

The film is paced in a slow and deliberate style, unwittingly drawing the viewer into the depths of the film that at first glance appears a standard crime-thriller but unwinds into complex psychological and philosophically disturbing ground. The directional style creates a sense of detachment in parts through the predominating use of often visually stunning master shots. However, this intellectually comfortable atmosphere is snatched away at will by the Kurosawa as the film progresses into more personal and confrontational scenes. The film perhaps suffers from certain periods of psychobabble as Mamiya's gift is given a scientific context but one is certainly repayed for patience and for giving into the film's dark atmosphere.

Cure/Kyua asks the viewer to question the uncomfortably fine line of self-restraint we depend on within society and our even more fragile sense of self-identity as Mamiya constantly deflects questions about himself and turns them onto his interrogators, always leading to the repeated question "Who are you?", forcing his victims into considering their own identity outside of the social boxes they've tried to place themselves. These themes are echoed by the scenes with Takabe's disturbed wife which are perhaps made all the more heart-wrenching and thought provoking thanks to Kurosawa's subtle, understated style in contrast to the schmaltz we are all overfamiliar with in western cinema. The result, if one allows themself to become involved with the film, is a very unnerving experience but a rewarding one nonetheless for those who enjoy thought-provoking and (damn this word) arty films. Kurosawa explores areas of the human psyche usually reserved for directors such as David Lynch and David Cronenburg and this effort has been hailed by many critics as his "first masterpiece".

One more thing - pay very close attention to the backgoround during the final scene in the diner if you wish to make sense of the story...

To the best of my knowledge this film is unreleased on VHS or DVD format in the US or europe but is still shown in certain art house cinemas. I recommend you check http://www.cowboypictures.com/cure/schedule.html for details. Apparently there are plans to release Cure/Kyua on DVD in the US this year and as such a european release may also follow.

Cure> (kUr), n. [OF, cure care, F., also, cure, healing, cure of souls, L. cura care, medical attendance, cure; perh. akin to cavere to pay heed, E. cution. Cure is not related to care.]

1.

Care, heed, or attention. [Obs.]

Of study took he most cure and most heed.
Chaucer.

Vicarages of greatcure, but small value.
Fuller.

2.

Spiritual charge; care of soul; the office of a parish priest or of a curate; hence, that which is committed to the charge of a parish priest or of a curate; a curacy; as, to resign a cure; to obtain a cure.

The appropriator was the incumbent parson, and had the cure of the souls of the parishioners.
Spelman.

3.

Medical or hygienic care; remedial treatment of disease; a method of medical treatment; as, to use the water cure.

4.

Act of healing or state of being healed; restoration to health from disease, or to soundness after injury.

Past hope! pastcure! past help.
Shak.

I do cures to-day and to-morrow.
Luke xii. 32.

5.

Means of the removal of disease or evil; that which heals; a remedy; a restorative.

Cold, hunger, prisons, ills without a cure.
Dryden.

The proper cure of such prejudices.
Bp. Hurd.

© Webster 1913

Cure, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cured (kUrd); p. pr. & vb. n. Curing.] [OF. curer to take care, to heal, F., only, to cleanse, L. curare to take care, to heal, fr. cura. See Cure,.]

1.

To heal; to restore to health, soundness, or sanity; to make well; -- said of a patient.

The child was cured from that very hour.
Matt. xvii. 18.

2.

To subdue or remove by remedial means; to remedy; to remove; to heal; -- said of a malady.

To cure this deadly grief.
Shak.

Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power . . . to cure diseases.
Luke ix. 1.

3.

To set free from (something injurious or blameworthy), as from a bad habit.

I never knew any man cured of inattention.
Swift.

4.

To prepare for preservation or permanent keeping; to preserve, as by drying, salting, etc.; as, to cure beef or fish; to cure hay.

© Webster 1913

Cure, v. i.

1.

To pay heed; to care; to give attention. [Obs.]

2.

To restore health; to effect a cure.

Whose smile and frown, like to Achilles' spear,
Is able with the change to kill and cure.
Shak.

3.

To become healed.

One desperate grief cures with another's languish.
Shak.

© Webster 1913

Cu`ré" (k&usdot;`rA"), n. [F., fr. LL. curatus. See Curate.]

A curate; a pardon.

© Webster 1913