Introduction
Franz Mesmer was a German physician who practiced in Vienna and Paris during the late-18th Century. Living during the time of the Scientific Revolution, his exploits in science mostly concerned the effects of magnetism on the human body, and the perceived health benefits. Rather than regular iron magnets however, Mesmer became convinced of the existence of a universal force or fluid which affected and permeated all living things, and which could be manipulated by practitioners of what he called Animal Magnetism, later termed Mesmerism. According to Mesmerism, it is possible for one to direct their life energies towards another individual and cure them of illness without resorting to invasive medical procedures such as surgery. A typical Mesmerism session involved long periods of making passes over a patient’s body and pressing on specific points. However, Mesmer’s concept of curing rather differs from the conventional modern interpretation. Whereas modern medicine seeks to cure a disease by bringing an end to the condition, Mesmer saw disease as something the human body had to overcome through increased resistance brought about by repetition of symptoms. Thus, he would try to induce a patient’s specific illness (ex: asthma in asthmatics, seizures in epileptics) through Mesmerism in the hopes that the severity of each episode of illness would decrease and eventually disappear.
I should note at this point that most if not all of Mesmer’s practices have been thoroughly discounted by modern science, and are mostly continued by advocates of alternative medicine in the form of energy healers and ionic bracelets. Mesmer faced skepticism during his lifetime as well, with inquiries from King Louis XVI staffed with such luminaries as Antoine Lavoisier and Benjamin Franklin. However, not all his work has been cast aside; Hypnotism, an accepted if not fully understood branch of medicine, is a direct descendant of his ideas, the result of trying to infuse Mesmerism with rational medical practices. His advocacy of a magnetically manipulable life force influenced the writings of Mary Shelley, John Keats, and Charles Dickens among others. And his influence created the word ‘Mesmerize’: The act of being enthralled with something to the exclusion of everything else. That’s an experience I’m sure most cinema lovers can relate to.
Feature Presentation
Cure, d. by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, written by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Masato Hagiwara, Kôji Yakusho, Tsuyoshi Ujiki
1997, IMDb
A wave of gruesome murders is sweeping Tokyo. The only connection is a bloody X carved into the neck of each of the victims.
Legacy
South Korean director Bong Joon-ho placed this on his 10 Greatest list for the 2012 Sight & Sound poll.
