Can Someone Help Me Understand Cure (1997)?

Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a huge enigma as a director for me. He is absolutely a master of the camera and I love the way he frames scenes and makes so much out of simple, seemingly mundane concepts (for example, Before we Vanish, Pulse, Tokyo Sonata). But I also find a lot of frustration with the narrative of his films (primarily Creepy, Retribution, Serpants Path, Seance, and Cure). These films often have great moments but fail to be satisfying overall.

When I read reviews about Cure, I seem to be missing on something that all of these people’s have noticed. Of course, the movie just could not be for me, but I often would like to understand why something didn’t work, rather than just chalking it up to a vibe.

For example, with Cure, I feel like every scene where the guy has a lighter and is hypnotizing someone, it gets very repetitive with each scene, and is quite boring/uninteresting to me as a payoff. It always leads to just another death, and the detective doesn’t really get close to figuring things out. Especially on rewatch, these scenes drag on a lot.

Another problem I have is with the two main characters, their descent I don’t feel is very well documented and is not explained very clearly.

While there are a couple scenes I love, like the opening scene, the scene where they watch the old film and the hands are crossing in an X, as well as some of the finale I really love, the location is excellent. But I don’t understand the final shot, and I just don’t understand the universal praise.

Is there some themes I am missing out on that would make this film better for me? What do you like about it, and what works for you?

I’m curious to discuss this film because I feel like I am on a very small minority here.