Movie Mindset 07 - Kurosawa (Not That One) feat. Brendan James
Added 2023-06-07 11:01:00 +0000 UTCWill & 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.
Comments
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.
triplehashbrown
2025-11-08 19:33:42 +0000 UTCThis mf said “mayima”
jdewd
2025-08-26 04:30:55 +0000 UTCLoved this episode and the series so far, this pod has been the inspiration for some awesome movie-watching, thanks again
mutism
2025-06-22 01:13:13 +0000 UTCThe Guided By Voices poster in Bright Future cracked me up
mutism
2025-06-22 01:12:32 +0000 UTCAll About Lily Chou-Chou mentioned ‼️‼️
Ryan
2024-06-16 19:54:17 +0000 UTCI 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.
Rory Blank
2024-05-26 05:51:52 +0000 UTCThe malevolent neutrality of the spectator - as Z would say.
Ben Walsh
2023-06-26 09:24:21 +0000 UTCFor 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.'
Jimmy McMillan
2023-06-17 02:20:38 +0000 UTCIf 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.
Ekaterina Sedia
2023-06-17 00:42:43 +0000 UTCWatched it last night, feel like it’s gonna stick with me a long time
J.P. McD.
2023-06-16 21:55:31 +0000 UTC😹😹😹
Shauna Seroquel
2023-06-13 21:04:51 +0000 UTCBest ep so far…
Gregory Dodds
2023-06-13 19:18:17 +0000 UTCI watched Bright Future b/c of this podcast. Very good movie.
Andrew Kristel
2023-06-12 19:46:18 +0000 UTCNo doubt Big Chris is behind this
Bill Crotts
2023-06-11 19:55:39 +0000 UTC“Blowback’s Brendan James.” Real ones remember…
Jack Arens
2023-06-11 06:30:01 +0000 UTCWhen are you all going to do The Secret to my Success??
Phil French
2023-06-11 03:25:00 +0000 UTCI love the Movie Mindset episodes so much 😲😲😲
Drew Middleton
2023-06-11 02:14:35 +0000 UTCIt's pronounced "Mama Mia!"
Claire Casey
2023-06-10 16:14:39 +0000 UTCIt might have actually been you I already recommended this to, but Sleazoids did an ep on Cure and Serpent's Path with friend of all good pods Sean Moorehead, and it is also a good listen and I'm pretty sure it's a free one. Also I think it's OK to promote them here since Will and Hesse are both frequent and very good guests on that pod. Finally I Googled to make sure I had the exact episode down and uh apparently KK is doing a self-suck Hollywood remake of SP like Michael Haneke did with Funny Games??? Bizarre but I'll definitely watch that shit
Claire Casey
2023-06-10 14:23:28 +0000 UTCWill had it correct until he was corrected
SoldierBlue
2023-06-10 13:05:12 +0000 UTCOne 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
Michael Austin
2023-06-10 03:14:05 +0000 UTCThat'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!
Rohmer Simpson
2023-06-10 00:57:32 +0000 UTCHard 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
Krustyleprachaun
2023-06-09 23:38:20 +0000 UTCI 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.
Rohmer Simpson
2023-06-09 22:30:27 +0000 UTCFound Pulse free on Tubi! Have to track down the rest, great episode :)
Kirstwb
2023-06-09 20:41:59 +0000 UTCNot 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.
Rohmer Simpson
2023-06-09 17:16:18 +0000 UTCclaiming? insisting!
Nathan Explosion
2023-06-09 12:44:39 +0000 UTC1) 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!
Eon Gattignolo
2023-06-09 03:45:34 +0000 UTCThey finally got the weeb fans to engage with this movie episode
A Witherspoon
2023-06-09 03:40:09 +0000 UTCThe waitress went to just go cut limes after she grabbed the knife
Sean Marshall
2023-06-09 02:41:22 +0000 UTCNow I want a “Trump on Cinema” podcast
Dylan
2023-06-09 02:24:33 +0000 UTCyou are the Donald ritchie of the movie mindset fan clique
calvin kilby
2023-06-09 02:09:16 +0000 UTCI'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 👑
Rohmer Simpson
2023-06-08 17:10:12 +0000 UTCIts cool how Brendan James put a thought virus into this episode by claiming Mamiya's name is Mayima.
Greg Forsyth
2023-06-08 16:55:47 +0000 UTCCure fucking rules
Ohn Jorazio
2023-06-08 13:29:08 +0000 UTCWhen 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.
Doug Bessette
2023-06-08 13:28:55 +0000 UTCI recommend Tokyo Sonata. My favorite film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Has a lot to say about class, family, and the perception of social status.
Christopher Lucka
2023-06-08 12:48:44 +0000 UTCCritical support for the brave freedom fighter Kei Sato.
John Williams
2023-06-08 12:02:55 +0000 UTCsame. and now Lion in Winter is a Christmas movie in mine
rum sodomy and the clash
2023-06-08 11:57:50 +0000 UTCI watched Cure for the first time last night and it was great. Loving this series!
Tim O'Connor
2023-06-08 10:57:47 +0000 UTCJust 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!
Alan Geoffrey James Lawrence
2023-06-08 08:01:22 +0000 UTC1:27:01 💀
Dennis Lyons
2023-06-08 07:29:36 +0000 UTCHesse 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.
Alan Geoffrey James Lawrence
2023-06-08 04:57:43 +0000 UTCHesse’s mic going out when she’s talking about the changes in video quality effecting your perception of reality is movie mindset
Tvvvv
2023-06-08 04:51:47 +0000 UTCFor some reason Stalag 17 was a Christmas movie at my house
Coleman Cox
2023-06-08 03:32:38 +0000 UTCIt’s Mamiya
NoPasaran
2023-06-08 03:30:54 +0000 UTCI love the theatrical ending.
J.W.
2023-06-08 02:37:49 +0000 UTCThis was an excellent interview guys
Micheline
2023-06-08 02:09:02 +0000 UTCThey 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.
Last Years Man
2023-06-08 01:24:39 +0000 UTCI 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
2023-06-08 01:13:13 +0000 UTCShit that's a great call.
Rohmer Simpson
2023-06-08 00:00:40 +0000 UTCSurprised that "God Told Me To" didn't come up as an American counterpart to "Cure"
Ry Mar
2023-06-07 23:56:33 +0000 UTCI really enjoyed this one.
Meatwad Cosby
2023-06-07 23:41:39 +0000 UTCRARBG 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.
Rohmer Simpson
2023-06-07 23:14:21 +0000 UTCgreat analysis guys! you're really coming into your own now
The Fine Art Revolution
2023-06-07 22:56:20 +0000 UTCCure is the best movie directed by anybody named Kurosawa
Mike
2023-06-07 22:38:23 +0000 UTCcure is on archive.org for free https://archive.org/details/cure_20211214
Yang Wenli
2023-06-07 21:20:58 +0000 UTCJia Jiangke in general should be checked out. Ash is Purest White is one of the saddest films I've ever seen.
calvin kilby
2023-06-07 20:16:43 +0000 UTCSince 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).
Ed
2023-06-07 18:58:19 +0000 UTCCmon man
KIDBOOYA420
2023-06-07 18:35:02 +0000 UTCCure's original poster is one of the sickest movie poster ever made
cmbalaclava
2023-06-07 18:26:08 +0000 UTCI actually listen to Movie Mindset for specifically this reason.
Michael Balls Penis
2023-06-07 18:19:38 +0000 UTCLet's go Brendan
Jonathan G
2023-06-07 18:08:57 +0000 UTCThey did you silly nidnug! See previous Patreon posters announcing Movie Mindset schedule. Hessa did I do good?
Don Tickles
2023-06-07 18:06:43 +0000 UTCPlease announce the movies in advance so I can watch prior to listening! Always get thirty minutes in and wanna stop to watch the movie
Jake Creighton
2023-06-07 18:03:11 +0000 UTCI'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
etienne
2023-06-07 16:21:19 +0000 UTClate night tv used to fucking go
Rohmer Simpson
2023-06-07 15:58:57 +0000 UTCYears 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.
Post Void
2023-06-07 15:29:45 +0000 UTCI 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.
Bloggystyle
2023-06-07 15:25:42 +0000 UTCOmg do noroi for Halloween I love that movie too!
n
2023-06-07 15:11:14 +0000 UTCRe: 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."
Last Years Man
2023-06-07 15:01:53 +0000 UTCTo 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).
Janie Danger
2023-06-07 14:55:44 +0000 UTCso 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
Saya Clarke
2023-06-07 14:47:08 +0000 UTC"Kurosawa"- oh cool! "Not That One"- oh, uhh, cool
J
2023-06-07 14:39:14 +0000 UTCFuck ya cure rules movies rule
jawn carpenter
2023-06-07 14:25:52 +0000 UTCFuck I keep getting like 20 minutes into these episodes and then have to stop because I wana watch the movie so bad
brodie
2023-06-07 14:23:15 +0000 UTCon 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.
Rohmer Simpson
2023-06-07 14:15:48 +0000 UTCLol 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
SeymoreButts
2023-06-07 13:37:26 +0000 UTCThe boss bogarting the TV is the same as when Richie sucker punches Janice. No walking back from that.
Rohmer Simpson
2023-06-07 13:14:14 +0000 UTCI'm sorry but it's absolutely pronounced mamiya not mayima idk why he kept insisting on the wrong pronunciation without being sure
Sean Russell
2023-06-07 13:08:13 +0000 UTCFantastic episode, you guys' genuine film literacy and perceptiveness blows almost every dedicated film podcast out of the water
Nah
2023-06-07 13:05:00 +0000 UTCIt’s about a chill guy in a normal country!
Rohmer Simpson
2023-06-07 13:04:01 +0000 UTCJourney to the Shore hugely underrated
Rohmer Simpson
2023-06-07 13:02:32 +0000 UTCHesse, 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)
Brad Plumb
2023-06-07 13:00:18 +0000 UTCLest anyone think that KIyoshi only focuses on men, he has made several movies with female protagonists too.
Brad Plumb
2023-06-07 12:58:02 +0000 UTCAnd by god, if you find a screen of any kind showing what looks like grainy surveillance video,, DON'T watch it
Last Years Man
2023-06-07 12:39:36 +0000 UTCOk you guys def need to do Emperor's Naked Army Marches On
George Lochinski
2023-06-07 12:35:13 +0000 UTCShit i watched the Lancaster films
HarshMalarkey
2023-06-07 12:19:40 +0000 UTC(Also do the other Kurosawa on another season if this isn't a one-off)
Claire Casey
2023-06-07 11:59:11 +0000 UTCNow that this one is here I'm gonna pop my usual cocktail of stuff that gets me through work and listen to the last two episodes (I was saving up for the KK ep) and just marathon Mindset and hopefully only regain my faculties by the time I have to go home
Claire Casey
2023-06-07 11:57:40 +0000 UTCKoji Yakusho the 🐐, just won Best Actor at Cannes, long overdue
Rohmer Simpson
2023-06-07 11:48:53 +0000 UTChope you maybe touch on The Swimmer in the Burt episode, such a weird amazing film
JV
2023-06-07 11:44:54 +0000 UTCAn 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.
Rohmer Simpson
2023-06-07 11:42:34 +0000 UTCMy body is ready
Gamma Quadrant
2023-06-07 11:19:22 +0000 UTCget Brendan back next time to discuss Halo lore with Felix, it's his favourite thing
etienne
2023-06-07 11:12:06 +0000 UTC
