Split Picks: Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 'Cure' (1997) Vs. 'Daguerrotype' (2016)

Split Picks looks at an absolute masterwork of horror and a later haunted romance from Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Split Picks continues its special October series on Japanese Horror with a look at two films from Kiyoshi Kurosawa. After a string of seemingly unrelated murders with undeniable similarities, Detective Takabe begins to link the odd details of the killings together. It leads him to Mamiya, a man who claims to have no memory, no idea who he is, or even what he looks like. He speaks almost exclusively in question, and his nonchalance proves to be the entrance to his unique form of hypnosis. In 2016's Daguerrotype, Jean is hired to help Stephane operate a daguerreotype, an obsolete form of photography that requires subjects to remain motionless for hours to capture the image. Jean falls in love with Stephane's daughter, Marie, but their romance raises questions of whether Marie is actually alive. Together, we get a look at what many deem to be Kurosawa's masterpiece, and a later film that features many of the hallmarks of his style. Bennett, Craig, and Lucille also weigh in on if they believe in ghosts, what it means to ask questions, and whether great art truly does equate to immortality.