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Movie Mindset 07 - Kurosawa (Not That One) feat. Brendan James (Patreon)

Published:
2023-06-07 11:01:00
Edited:
2025-08-12 21:26:16
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

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Content

Will & Hesse are joined by Blowback’s Brendan James to discuss two films by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1997’s Cure and 2002’s Bright Future. Not quite what people might expect when they imagine “modern J-Horror,” Kurosawa’s films nonetheless feature supernatural ghosts and killers that reflect anxieties and paranoias about life in modern Japan. The crew gets into all of this, plus venomous jellyfish and a visit from Donald Trump, all in today’s Movie Mindset.

NEXT WEEK: Starring Burt Lancaster, it’s 1957’s The Sweet Smell of Success and 1963’s The Leopard.

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Comments

etienne

get Brendan back next time to discuss Halo lore with Felix, it's his favourite thing

Jaime Christley

An important lesson that many of KK’s films teach us is that, if you come home and there’s someone standing in a gloomy corner, facing the wall, and not saying anything, doesn’t matter if it’s your spouse or a complete stranger, GET INTO YOUR CAR AND GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE IMMEDIATELY.

JV

hope you maybe touch on The Swimmer in the Burt episode, such a weird amazing film

Jaime Christley

Koji Yakusho the 🐐, just won Best Actor at Cannes, long overdue

HarshMalarkey

Shit i watched the Lancaster films

George Lochinski

Ok you guys def need to do Emperor's Naked Army Marches On

Last Years Man

And by god, if you find a screen of any kind showing what looks like grainy surveillance video,, DON'T watch it

Last Years Man

Lest anyone think that KIyoshi only focuses on men, he has made several movies with female protagonists too.

Last Years Man

Hesse, I translate Japanese for a living. Your pronunciation of "Mamiya" is spot on! You got it right the first time and Brendan gaslighted everybody into something wrong, lol. (Sorry Brendan)

Jaime Christley

It’s about a chill guy in a normal country!

Nah

Fantastic episode, you guys' genuine film literacy and perceptiveness blows almost every dedicated film podcast out of the water

Sean Russell

I'm sorry but it's absolutely pronounced mamiya not mayima idk why he kept insisting on the wrong pronunciation without being sure

Jaime Christley

The boss bogarting the TV is the same as when Richie sucker punches Janice. No walking back from that.

SeymoreButts

Lol this is the second episode where someone is wrongly corrected after saying a name correctly into saying the name completely wrong for the entire rest of the episode

Jaime Christley

on the subject of Kurosawa recs, apart from what titles were already mentioned on the show - I want to put in a word for LICENSE TO LIVE (1998). also of note since Brendan brought up SERPENT'S PATH, that film was shot back to back with EYES OF THE SPIDER, with the same cast and crew, and very similar themes. (angry dad revenge saga). restraining myself from writing 9 more paragraphs on the guy and his films so I'll just say, watch everything you can find, even the ones that aren't totally successful are ALWAYS of interest, loaded with personality, the hand of his direction always present. a fascinating body of work. glad to hear this episode.

brodie

Fuck I keep getting like 20 minutes into these episodes and then have to stop because I wana watch the movie so bad

J

"Kurosawa"- oh cool! "Not That One"- oh, uhh, cool

Saya Clarke

so happy to hear Hesse talk about All About Lily Chou-Chou!! I rented it when I was a teenager because the box art looked interesting and WOW it had such a profound effect on me. my friend and I who watched it together still reference it to this day. stunning movie I hight recommend

BTULTRA

To continue the Exorcist 3 parallels. The original ending of Exorcist 3 was George C Scott just straight up killing Brad Dourif, just going into the cell and shooting him. Literally the same way the final confrontation in Cure happens. The studio made William Peter Blatty add the final duel of the movie (for the better in my opinion).

Last Years Man

Re: Bright Future... One thing that maybe doesn't come across in translation with the punks is how incredibly inane and meaningless their dialog is. Everything they say is simultaneously vague yet ridiculously coarse. It's actually a great approximation of the worst stereotypes of how young people in Japan talked at that time. Communication has basically devolved into grunts and burps as they commit their vandalism. At the time I first saw this, around the time of its release, it seemed to be a refutation of all the expectations that the Japanese public had for its children. "This is what you created... this is what you deserve." So I certainly think the answer to Will's question is "Yes."

n

Omg do noroi for Halloween I love that movie too!

Bloggystyle

I was not familiar with Kurosawa’s work. I went to my Criterion Collection App and bingo! Love your analysis; and was pleased to hear mentions of Audition,and Zatochi. I would like to plug another fave Tampopo.

Post Void

Years ago I was watching Adult Swim "Off The Air" at like 4am and it gave me a recurring nightmare. The section was a woman running on a beach, which is almost the same type of shot as the hallway ghost from Pulse. It's "You Ruined It" by Michael Langan on YouTube.

etienne

I'm more of a music head but there's an electronica artist called VHS Head who makes really spastic and hype music by collaging audio from found tapes from the 80's an 90's, with emphasis on trailer announcer voice, horror movie exposition dumps, flashy synths, and ident card audio assault, I really love him His first album Trademark Ribbons of Gold is a masterpiece, and there's a song off his 2nd album called Camera Eyes for which someone made a music video out of footage from every audio sample on the track and it's mind melting. The video is only on Vimeo because of copyrights but it's a trip. I'm sure Movie Mindset enjoyers here could get into VHS Head

Jake Creighton

Please announce the movies in advance so I can watch prior to listening! Always get thirty minutes in and wanna stop to watch the movie

Don Tickles

They did you silly nidnug! See previous Patreon posters announcing Movie Mindset schedule. Hessa did I do good?

Michael Balls Penis

I actually listen to Movie Mindset for specifically this reason.

WL

Cure's original poster is one of the sickest movie poster ever made

WL

Trump voice: MAYIMA!

Ed

Since Pickpocket was mentioned, I'd like to toss in a recommendation to listeners for Jia Zhangke's "Unknown Pleasures," for how relates to a generation of futures foreclosed (and its experimentation with the video format).

calvin kilby

Jia Jiangke in general should be checked out. Ash is Purest White is one of the saddest films I've ever seen.

Jaime Christley

as long as we're shouting out recent cinema from the glorious PRC, there's a writer-director named Diao Yi'nan who doesn't seem to make films too often (four since 2003) but when he does it's a zinger. THE WILD GOOSE LAKE and BLACK COAL, THIN ICE are both v good.

Jaime Christley

(he didn't like Obama voice) "he didn't like TAKABE"

Mike

Cure is the best movie directed by anybody named Kurosawa

Jaime Christley

RARBG shuttering has done a Flowers for Algernon number on me as far as torrent savvy so I feel like my only option to catch NOROI - THE CURSE is to rent it on Amazon like a schmuck.

Ry Mar

Surprised that "God Told Me To" didn't come up as an American counterpart to "Cure"

Last Years Man

I was surprised and kinda excited to hear that Will and Brendan weren't familiar with Shunji Iwai. His filmography is totally worth looking into. They would love Swallowtail Butterfly!

Last Years Man

They did a really good job with tricky material on this one. It's really gratifying to see people who don't necessarily have a background in Japanese culture so closely understand the themes and also (this is important) recognize the parallels with Western society. Too often, Japan is treated as an "other". But as Will pointed out, several times, they're struggling with the same shit Americans are, just in very different ways. But back to the pod, Will's historical materialism + Hesse's natural empathy and insight + Brendan's meticulous research made for a great discussion.

Micheline

This was an excellent interview guys

J.W.

I love the theatrical ending.

Tvvvv

Hesse’s mic going out when she’s talking about the changes in video quality effecting your perception of reality is movie mindset

Alan Geoffrey James Lawrence

Hesse mentioned the hospital in Cure––In a couple of interviews Kurosawa said that he used to choose those buildings not for what purpose they served, but because they had been condemned, and would be cheap to shoot inside. I doubt it was a hospital, though I suppose it was possible––but most of those creepy buildings in Kurosawa films are unfindable now, because most of them no longer exist.

Dennis

1:27:01 💀

Dennis

In fairness, will’s record here is less than perfect 😂

Alan Geoffrey James Lawrence

Just finished listening to the episode––so cool. My experience with both these movies was very similar to those Will and Hesse and Brendan describe here. Will references the ghost in Pulse, and I wanted to mention that I recently saw Kurosawa's earlier movie, Door III––and that exact scene and choreography from Pulse actually originates in the earlier, cheaper film. But it's remarkable, because the sequence has absolutely no suspense in Door III, and the same exact formulation in Pulse is terrifying. A few more things I was too excited not to share...in the era of Cure and Bright Future, Kurosawa identified his own project to be exploring and reinventing subgenres of horror, and at the time he calls Bright Future a "monster movie." He also identifies Charisma as a pseudo-sequel to Cure, as if the detective in Charisma and the one in Cure were two versions of the same figure (the end of the world at the conclusion of Charisma is almost a little further-gone version of whatever is happening at the end of Cure. One of Kurosawa's best movies is this quiet character study/musical he did recently, shot in Uzbekistan, called To the Ends of the Earth. But the earlier pictures The Guard from the Underground and Door III are both remarkable movies I just discovered recently––Guard is a dark comedy about work, and Door III is Kurosawa's riff on "Body Snatchers," also criticizing a modern work milieu. Both those films are really interesting, and I think Guard is really pretty good. And because Hesse mentioned Shunji Iwai at the top of the episode, I wanted to recommend these two strange pictures in Iwai's career, which are amazing movies, but which are pretty hard to find: Swallowtail Butterfly and A Bride for Rip Van Winkle. Both are done in the style of Charles Dickens' sort of social criticism. Swallowtail is a 3-hour, grunge-rock, sci-fi musical about money and nationality, and Bride is a 3-hour movie which changes genre every 40 minutes or so, about a woman who fakes the guest list at her lavish wedding to her online boyfriend––only to be plunged into a twilight world as a professional fake relative at other people's weddings. Later on it's a haunted house movie, later a love story...it's a lot of things. And a great Koji Yakusho film which is often ignored is Shinji Aoyama's Eureka, where bus driver Koji and two children are the only survivors of a bus hijacking. The film is shot in sepia-tone, with long, meditative passages where people wander around in circles. Essentially it's about the profound alienation the three feel from their society as survivors, and the ways in which they try to surmount this feeling. Director Aoyama and Kurosawa were close collaborators, who eventually made a pact so that they wouldn't make movies that were too much like one another's films. Recently, a filmmaker who worked for Aoyama made another remarkable film in a similar vein, Haruhara-San's Recorder (in which a woman reimagines her life after being haunted by the death of her lover––who appears throughout the movie just sitting around watching her). Thanks so much for covering some exceptional Japanese films on the podcast!

Tim O'

I watched Cure for the first time last night and it was great. Loving this series!

THEKILLERWHALE

Critical support for the brave freedom fighter Kei Sato.

Christopher Lucka

I recommend Tokyo Sonata. My favorite film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Has a lot to say about class, family, and the perception of social status.

Doug B

When I was in the army and on guard duty in Bosnia, I was often teamed up with a guy, Sergeant Rodriguez, who would narrate the plot of great movies like The Shining over the course of the shift, which would often be all night long. Those were some of the best nights of my life, and y’all have recreated that experience with this podcast. Fantastic work.

Greg Forsyth

Its cool how Brendan James put a thought virus into this episode by claiming Mamiya's name is Mayima.

Jaime Christley

I've had time to think about it and here's the truth: the little weird shimmy step the ghost does in PULSE? That symbolizes Kurosawa dodging the J-horror pipeline, and keeping on keeping on. That's why he's the 👑

calvin kilby

you are the Donald ritchie of the movie mindset fan clique

Dylan

Now I want a “Trump on Cinema” podcast

Houthi & the Blowfish

The waitress went to just go cut limes after she grabbed the knife

A Witherspoon

They finally got the weeb fans to engage with this movie episode

Eon Gattignolo

1) they meant subjugate, not sublimate 2) listening to intelligent people excitedly discuss how art stimulates their minds and expands their picture(s) of the world and its meaning reinvigorates my faith in art and belief in its inherent value. this mini series is really great. thank you thank you will and hessa!

Jaime Christley

Not sure if anyone's going to see this but - just rewatched CURE for the first time in 10+ yrs yesterday. The episode really prompted me to pay attention to certain things that passed over me in previous viewings, so that was great. 10/10 all time masterpiece etc etc, tho I was left with a couple of questions: 1) How did Mamiya escape from his cell? I tracked well enough the sequence where the whole building seems to be experiencing the effects of an earthquake but then we see it's just Mamiya using that wooden stool to bash the radiator that's causing the tremors. Ok, got that, registered that. But in short order, Takabe is seen exiting his cell in what we assume is well after the fact of the escape, and there's someone (?) lying in the corridor, presumably dead, and so forth. Do we just take this on faith that he did his mind games on somebody and one thing led to another? 2) More of a comment than a question: Takabe's hair is GODLIKE. Small wonder he defeats Mamiya, who has good hair but not a top tier mane.

Kirstwb

Found Pulse free on Tubi! Have to track down the rest, great episode :)

Jaime Christley

I was disappointed to see there are only 2 KKs on the Criterion Channel, although they're both great. Kanopy has a bunch; if I recall, you only need a library card or a school ID to watch movies there.

Krustyleprachaun

Hard agree on the hair, I watched it for the first time once i got 15 minutes into the ep cause the movie sounded epic and i was fully sold, didn't want any spoilers. I interpreted the escape as Mamiya having already spoken to the guard and using the rhythm/sound of the stool and radiator to activate his hypnotism that he'd already planted. cheers bruh

Jaime Christley

That's interesting about using those rhythms to get his way, it's both new in that we hadn't seen him use that exact technique to get his way, but connected, in that it belongs in the general family with firelight and spilled water. I would have liked something to ID the fallen and bloodied figure outside his cell, but it's an easy bet I missed that clue, as well. But even so, well done and many thanks!

Michael Austin

One of my favorite movie mindset episodes so far. I also echo whoever else said doing Noroi as an episode. I watched it like 15 years ago in parts on youtube and it's still one of the most well-remembered horror films ive seen, and possibly the greatest found footage style one

SoldierBlue

Will had it correct until he was corrected

Jaime Christley

Cool, Moorehead’s a good head by all accounts, I’ll look out for that. Brendan mentions here about the SP remake as being set in France. I’m all in, I mean the action is the juice etc. I really liked Daguerrotype; that and Seventh Code and TTEOTE prove he can shoot anywhere and get great results.

Drew

I love the Movie Mindset episodes so much 😲😲😲

Phil French

When are you all going to do The Secret to my Success??

Drew

"Correcting" them multiple times 😂 so funny

Jack Arens

“Blowback’s Brendan James.” Real ones remember…

Bill Crotts

No doubt Big Chris is behind this

Andrew Kristel

I watched Bright Future b/c of this podcast. Very good movie.

Last Years Man

I too discovered "guard from the underground" recently and loved it. I think the workplace commentary is actually way ahead of its time, as well as the way it implies that professional women exist daily in an environment that is actively trying to destroy them in multiple ways. Re: Eureka, I'll one up you and recommend the entire "Kita-kyushu trilogy" Helpless + Eureka + Sad Vacation. Shinji Aoyama actually got his start working under Kiyoshi Kurosawa too.,

J.P. McD.

Watched it last night, feel like it’s gonna stick with me a long time

Kit Sedia

If Will actually listened to the Articles of Interest podcast instead of just making fun of it, tattered jackets would make a lot more sense. Yes there’s a Meiji Restoration connection.

Jimmy McMillan

For the first six minutes of the pod I was thinking, 'Why isn't Hesse on this episode? Is Will even going to acknowledge their absence? They must hate each other now or something.'

Ben Walsh

The malevolent neutrality of the spectator - as Z would say.

Rory Blank

I just got around to listening to this episode and wanted to say, about the note at the end about Kōji Shiraishi's films and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's cameo in Occult, that was actually how I first became aware of Kurosawa. I was watching Occult, and they mention in the film that he's a filmmaker. Knowing that Shiraishi put several actual Japanese celebrities in Noroi, I got curious about him, assuming he was a real guy, and looked him up and watched Cure and Pulse back to back knowing only that he was the amateur paleontologist from Occult, and with absolutely no context or expectations for his work.

Ryan

All About Lily Chou-Chou mentioned ‼️‼️

mutism

The Guided By Voices poster in Bright Future cracked me up

mutism

Loved this episode and the series so far, this pod has been the inspiration for some awesome movie-watching, thanks again

jdewd

This mf said “mayima”

triplehashbrown

I’ve gotta drop back in here in this and say that Brendan’s repeated incorrect insistence on the pronunciation of Mamiya’s name is indicative of a severe character flaw.

Kevin

Mayima vs Solid Snake in a circular questions off would go crazy

Snorin

at 31:50 Brendan refers to “the nurse” when he means “the female doctor.” so ironic given that her primary motivation as a character is being underestimated as a medical professional for her gender, which is ESPECIALLY important for the themes around genders that Brendan himself discusses! I know it was just an accidental slip but sometimes the film bro stereotype really jumps out 🤦🏼‍♀️