Kiyoshi Kurosawa was born on July 19, 1955, in Kobe, Japan. He is a director and writer, best known for Pulse (2001), Cure (1997) and Tokyo Sonata (2008). Throughout his career he has been nominated 49 times in several festivals such as Cannes, Fantasia, Locarno, and Catalonian International Film Festival. He has won 28 awards out of these nominations.
In my opinion, his most outstanding films are the following three:
1. Séance (2000)
This film introduces a psychic woman and her husband, a photographer who wishes his wife to be recognized for her special gifts. However, this dream transcends when they find a kidnapped girl, and try to make the woman famous by working with the police instead of reporting that they find the poor girl. But, things are not really working in their favor, and they seem to be slipping out of their hands. The whole scheme goes wrong, and they have to face the consequences.
2. Chime (2024)
A remarkable horror-thriller that explores briefly the life of a chef and how it is disrupted by a chime that brings a dreadful vibe to the classes. This short film displays so much in such little time, and that is what makes it so special. A deep story with different twists and turns that complement the film so beautifully. It was one of my favorite films that came out last year.
3. Cure (1997)
The film follows a detective who finds himself fidgeting and spiraling out of control due to the gruesome murders that seem to increase each day nonstop in Tokyo. Undoubtedly, Kurosawa manages to work with psychopathy in its most morally depraved phase and make something brilliantly frightful out of it. Most of his films draw you in to make you part of the mystery and sympathize with a character that lacks empathy and sympathy himself.
References:
IMDb. (n.d.). Kiyoshi Kurosawa. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0475905/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
