The Cure (1995)

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

This is the first Western drama I watched when I was a kid that showed me how fun it is to have a childhood adventure with your best friend but at the same time it touched my childish heart with its poignant plot.I think it's a great movie because I really enjoyed it and I could easily relate to the two lead characters: a hard-edged, misfit Erik and Dexter, an eleven years old boy who got AIDS from blood transfusion. The way these kids deal with the horrible disease and then embark on an adventure to find the cure – is natural and uplifting.After growing up and watch it again, I've noticed some things that intensify my love for this movie, which I didn't fully understand then. It taught me, in the most simple and sincere way, about the danger of AIDS and the importance of supports to the patients. I love how Erik stand up for his next-door-ailing- best-friend against the bullies and his alcoholic and abusive mother. And Dexter beautifully portrays a terminally-ill kid who is just too young to understand his situation and decides to just live with it.The acting of Brad Renfro and Joseph Mazzello, who play Erik and Dexter respectively, is impeccable. The relationship between the two boys are solid, like they were meant to complete each other. Erik is a rebel and outdoorsy, which he got from his distant and storming mother. On the contrary, Dexter is smart and witty boy whose sweet relationship with his mom fascinates Erik. He sticks to Dexter and his mother's imperfect but happy life, regardless rejections from surroundings.The most memorable scene from this movie is what I called 'the shoe metaphor'. On one night in the middle of their naive-but-brave adventure, Dexter tells Erik about his fear of death and nothingness.Dexter: Suppose you kept going another 18 billion light years, what if there's nothing out there? Suppose you kept going another trillion times further, so far out you see nothing. The light from the universe would be fainter than the faintest star. Infinitely cold. Infinitely dark. Sometimes if I wake up and it's dark, I get really scared, like I'm out there and I'm never coming back.Erik: Here, hold onto this when you sleep. And if you wake up and you're scared, you'll say, "Wait a minute. I'm holding Eric's shoe. Why the hell would I be holding some smelly basketball shoe a trillion light years from the universe? I must be here on earth, safe in my sleeping bag, and Eric must be close by." And the smelly shoe, continues to bring tears off of my eyes in the end of the movie, when Erik puts the shoe to Dexter's hand in his coffin, – then releases Dexter's black funeral shoe to the river. This is very saddening because the boys start their adventure from the river with a raft made of used tire. The adventure that will always continue and bonds them forever.Lastly, this movie is the first movie that taught me the art of letting go. No matter how much we love someone, we need to be able to let go and move on. And we gotta keep holding on their beautiful memories so they will live forever in our hearts – and in heaven.

'The Cure' is a touching film about a true friendship. A friendship that exceeds all of the preconceptions. I agree that this is a tale of happiness under tragic circumstances. Plus, it portrays an ignorant side of society. Many believe that AIDS is strictly a "gay" disease and transmittable through the air and mock and treat miserably those who have it. This movie can teach us all many lessons and morals.This story is about two unlucky boys with different personalities and some problems in common (both are rejected and unwelcome by society). Erik is, I assume, 12 years old (like Brad Renfro himself back then), an easy target for a bunch of dorks and his mother is a horrible person and ignorant (and so is his unseen grandmother). Erik's neighbor Dexter is 11 (like Joseph Mazzello at the time). Dexter has a loving mother but he is a cursed child. He is very nice and sweet but he got AIDS from a blood transfusion when he was a baby and just because of his illness he is treated by the ignorants as if he was a plague. This is Dexter's drama. Poor Dexter!Erik and Dexter got off to a bad start but Erik quickly learns to like and respect Dexter and they become great friends. Together they live adventures and moments of fun and happiness at the same time they attempt to find a cure to save Dexter. Their friendship has no boundaries and both find out they're braver than they ever imagined, as their courage helps them in sticky situations. Erik gives Dexter a chance to live life as it should be lived.There is a number of heartwarming moments, such as the scene when Erik gives his tennis shoe to Dexter to comfort him and make him feel safer. Another part that gets me every time is the tense sequence when Dexter stabs his hand and says the haunting line «My blood is like poison» and gets far weaker after this bravery act and has to be taken to a hospital.During Dexter's stay at the hospital, there are some fun moments which serve as a perfect comic relief under a tragic circumstance. The boys prank the doctors that Dexter is unconscious in two occasions. Dexter scares the hell out of the doctors and laughs a lot. But in a 3rd attempt to prank them, when Erik asks Dexter «Are you ready for another victim?» and Dexter smiles and nods "Yes", the sad irony is that Dexter no longer wakes up. The cure is not found. The nice tyke doesn't make it.The two boys take the movie all by themselves and shine like stars: Brad Renfro as Erik and Joseph Mazzello as Dexter.Brad Renfro was talented and always looked mature for his age. That and the fact that his voice sounded mature for the age made him look some years older than he really was. Shame he did put himself in a bad spot few years after this movie was made and passed away early.Joseph Mazzello always proved to be a fine young actor. He is simply wonderful in this serious role. And he was a very cute kid and had the cutest and most adorable voice, along with Judith Barsi.Annabella Sciorra's acting as Linda also deserves my praise. The soundtrack is worth of my praise too, it sounds so peaceful-minded, fits perfectly in the mood of the film. This movie is a classic, deserves much better luck than it got.Title in Portugal: 'Laços de Amizade'.

So glad I have HBO right now. I didn't plan on watching a movie today, but when I got home and saw that the next movie on HBO was this one I decided (based on the description) to at least give it a shot. I'm so glad I decided to watch this movie! Maybe this movie just caught me at a vulnerable moment (I'm a little stressed out, got a huge test to be studying for), but it definitely gave me quite the perspective on friendship not to mention taught me a valuable lesson on empathy. I'm currently one year away from graduating from pharmacy school and the whole scene involving the doctor and the nurse was definitely a learning point for me!Anyhow, I just wanted to post up letting the world know this is an amazing movie and not to be missed. There is definitely something for everyone in this movie!

The Cure is an outstanding real-life drama that deals with a very sensitive subject. It is the story of the profound and dear friendship between two boys, Eric and Dexter. The latter has acquired AIDS from a blood transfusion. Thus he and his mom (Annabella Sciorra) have become outcasts, shunned by the public and labeled as dangerous company, basically due to a common lack of public knowledge of the disease.When Eric (Brad Renfro, known from 'The Client' and 'Apt Pupil') and his mom move into the house next to them, he has to deal with public insults and the fear of catching AIDS himself. However, Eric overcomes his fear and risks everything. At first he starts talking to Dexter, but eventually he climbs over the fence and joins the witty boy (played by Jurassic Park's Joseph Mazzello) and his games. Very quickly he develops a real friendship with Dexter, who is delicately built and frail due to his condition.The central theme of the movie – the theme which makes it pervasively authentic and tragic at the same time – is how Eric and Dexter try to find the ultimate cure. At first they experiment with all kinds of plants and leaves – which is very naive, but also genuine at the same time, as it shows how young kids deal with such heinous diseases and how strongly they still believe in the magic of the world. When they hear about an alleged cure which has been developed in the South, they do not hesitate and take off for an adventure that will bring them even closer together and symbolizes the ultimate quest for hope.So they board a raft and head southwards on the Mississippi River. What starts as a real adventure becomes a dangerous undertaking, which is emotionally intriguing and instructive at the same time. The scene when Dexter reveals his fears and talks about the end of the universe, where everything is dark and cold, Eric hands him his sneaker, a symbol that wherever the boy may have to go, Eric is and will always be with him; he will never have to be alone. This sequence, which is one of the most compelling ones of the movie, features a very convincing interaction between the two actors, who manage to avoid awkward and corny dialogs and deliver a very genuine performance that is eventually smashing in its tenderness and honesty.I will not go any further in outlining the plot, as I do not intend to give away too much information. The ending however is emotionally tough and makes the audience so much a part of the tragedy that everyone who watches the movie will feel personally affected. This aspect makes this movie so strong, so outstanding and so convincing. The emotional burden on every character is so real and so thrashing that even the tougher members of the audience might need some hankies.A 10 is doing justice to this movie and is not too high a rating. There is hardly any other movie I have seen in my life so far that handles such an emotional issue with so much wit and sensibility. It is the story of how two boys make each other's life richer and how they teach each other lessons of life. Thus Dexter overcomes his isolation and sadness, and Eric learns what really counts in life; and both of them realize how much of a gift real friendship is when it comes to the hardest moments of life.This movie is tragic – but its message is sheer inspiration.