User reviews

The subject of children being terminally ill is difficult and saddening but 'The Cure' successfully portrays the idea that it doesn't have to be all doom and gloom and, if anything, children need to have hope and delight in their lives if they are to find peace before the end. It is also a film of remarkable bonds of friendship and the innocence of childhood.

The film sees Erik, a dysfunctional adolescent boy with a distant mother, moving into a new area where their next-door neighbour is eleven-year-old Dexter, who contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion. After his initial fears and ignorance over AIDS are allayed, Erik befriends Dexter and their almost fraternal friendship sees them embark on a journey down the Mississippi to where they have heard about a New Orleans doctor who claims to have found a cure for the disease.

The talent from the two young leads of Brad Renfro and Joseph Mazzello, who play Erik and Dexter respectively, is exceptional. Brad was able to portray Erik's harder edge without comprising the subtle childish innocence inherent to the character while Joseph depicts the sense of vulnerability to Dexter's character but injects the right amount of boyish enthusiasm and zeal to highlight that his illness doesn't mean he still isn't a child who wants to run and play like any other eleven-year-old boy. The pair's interactions create a feel in the audience that these are two boys who are genuinely close and they carry the film well. Annabella Sciorra also delivers a touching performance as Dexter's mother Linda, who adores her son and delights in seeing him thrive with this new friendship to Erik and eventually becomes a surrogate mother-figure to the other boy.

Set against an excellent soundtrack, 'The Cure' is a very bittersweet film that manages to flawlessly weave the story of boyhood friendship that survives unflinchingly in the midst of prejudice and terminal illness without resorting to sappiness or unnecessary saccharine sweet scenes. A very interesting reflection in the film is that is it the adults who have the problem with Dexter's AIDS status whereas the children, even the 'bullies', come to accept him as they would any other. What is also very touching is how, despite Erik's streetwise nature, he is the more naive one in his determination to cure Dexter while the younger boy has this haunting sense that he knows his fate but is swept away by his best friend's enthusiasm for a cure.

I highly recommend 'The Cure' for it is rare to find a film that is simultaneously sad and uplifting.

This is one of the most touching films I had ever watched. No movie has effected me the way this one did. This is a great film and you have to see for yourself. I'm normally impregnable with these sob story movies but this one did it for me. I was in tears at the end. You'll yearn for the friendship that is portrayed in this movie. If I can give this movie a billion stars I could.

For unknown reasons this beautiful masterpiece didn't get well-deserved recognition and has been vastly under-appreciated by many American movie critics. So it's easy to understand that I've met lots of troubles trying to find this movie. Finally I watched it and it was so beautiful, sincere and poignant that for the first time in my life I watched one movie five times in one week after getting the tape. The story is focused on the friendship between two young boys Erik and Dexter, eleven and twelve years old, who are very different from each other but they are becoming the best (and only) friends. The beauty and sincerity of their friendship have been shown in the Cure so sincere and naturally as it has never been before. There are so many beautiful, heartfelt and poignant scenes (particularly on the river), which strike the heart and can't leave any human indifferent to them. The movie also is full of incredibly powerful and emotional symbolism, (particularly strong with Erik's shoe) which also greatly increases visual impression from such beautiful work. The story, written by Robert Kuhn, is well written and on the contrary to overwhelming majority of modern Hollywood's products practically every scene, every phrase and every sentence in the movie is meaningful and bring something important about characters and relations between them. Peter Horton, who as I know had no major experience in movie directing before, showed his great abilities and talents in this sphere. The cinematography is also superb with perfectly selected locations for the movie, but the most important is perfect acting, which with all above mentioned makes The Cure one of the best movies ever. Both Brad Renfro as Erik and Joseph Mazello as Dexter created wonderful atmosphere of sincere friendship and magnificent chemistry between two main characters. Only one this movie (I haven't seen most of their other works) is enough to name them as one of the best actors of their generation. Annabelle Sciorra also give a terrific performance as Dexter's mother. It's terribly sad that such talented actors didn't get wide recognition, while numerous overrated stars enjoy enormous publicity and huge salaries. Finally it would be unfair not to mention amazing soundtrack written by David Grusin, and terrific Mark Cohn's song (one of the best songs that I've ever heard in the movies) My Great Escape. So all that I can say about The Cure is one simple word – great. At any point of view this movie is a beautiful, heartfelt and inspiring work of all people involved in making of this masterpiece. I have to credit all those people who put their hearts and souls into the movie and Universal Pictures, which among numerous formulaic commercial projects has found a way to make such a beautiful movie. But such movie so rarely come to movie theaters that very often studios themselves don't realize what gem they have made that they're unable to provide respective marketing campaign. The only one minor drawback about The Cure for me is its short length (only 97 minutes).

I don't want to write more about the movie because it's simply impossible to put its beauty and sincerity into words, so if you have any opportunity for watching The Cure, rent it or buy it and you wouldn't be disappointed.

10 out of 10. Sorry for my bad English.

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.

Here's a film about and enacted by two children. Although there are adults in the film, they are there to add some authenticity, drama and, at times, comedy relief. The younger of the two boys, Dexter (Joseph Mazzello) is dying of AIDS; the older boy, Eric (Brad Renfro), is something of a sociopath. A lad of the South, Eric lives with his divorced mother in an unidentified city in the upper reaches of the Mississippi River (St. Paul, Minneapolis?). His innate hostility coupled with his marked southern accent does little to endear him to his peer group. So Eric is something of an outcast and has few friends...until he meets his next-door neighbor. He and Dexter become fast, though tenuous, friends. The friendship solidifies as the story segues into a quest for an AIDS cure which takes them on a Tom Sawyer trek down the Mississippi River with lots of adventures. One later scene, which will be thought of as emotional and something of a tear jerker, is truly uplifting and brings to the fore the true theme of the film. A first time effort by director Peter Horton, its theme was not one to garner any great box-office success. But it is well worth a video rental. (Brad Renfro, by the way, proves that his brilliant performance in The Client was not a fluke. And he did it without Tommmy Lee Jones & Susan Sarandan).

A tale of a young boy Dexter (Joseph Mazzello) with AIDS who befriends a rough and tumble boy (played by Brad Renfro) his exact opposite. 'The Cure' is a sad, if a bit too soapy pull at your emotions "message" movie with it's heart in the right place. The highlight might be just watching them finding friendship and hanging out with each other when no one else accepts them.

However since the real story centers on the boy's AIDS. Things take off when one day at the local supermarket, Dexter's eye catches a checkout tabloid magazine that states a New Orleans doctor has discovered the cure. Both of them (obviously a tad naive) make it a plan to set out for New Orleans in whichever means possible. Which pulled me two ways. While its a mite heart warming, I found the plot wandered in a melodramatic fashion. I couldn't escape the tugging notion I was watching a road trip movie about self discovery, sickness and growing up. For instance, I know they're young, but I found it hard to belief in the things these boys do. Like making a cross-country voyage with no legal or downright scary repercussions.

My misgivings aside. Those are movie conventions you come to expect and it doesn't stop 'The Cure' from being a good watch particularly with family.

Very nice movie! I was browsing the channels on my TV and I usually ignore the channels that air drama movies but then I saw this channel that airs old school movies and it is where I saw this movie. At first, when I saw the title "The Cure" I thought it's gonna be boring but then I got hooked when I saw Brad Renfro was in this movie (because of one of my favorite movie of all time is "The Client" where Brad also stars). Then the scenes was getting better and better. The story is so beautiful and very touching! I cried hard in this movie which I don't usually do. Great casting! and there are so many beautiful lines/quotes in this movie which is very striking and made me cry hard! Now, I bought my own copy on DVD and I always recommend it to everyone!

This film was made at a time when there wasn't a great deal of knowledge about AIDS and as a result there was a lot of misinformation and fear about the disease. This was, therefore, a courageous film, dealing with a very delicate subject matter. Dexter (Joseph Mazzello) is an 11 year old suffering from AIDS that was transmitted through a blood transfusion. Because of the disease, he's isolated and has no friends, but he does have a loving and attentive mother (Annabella Sciorra.) After moving into a new neighbourhood, Dexter suddenly has a next door neighbour named Erik (Brad Renfro.) At first, Brad wants nothing to do with Dexter, but gradually they develop a close friendship, much to the displeasure of Erik's less than attentive mother (Diana Scarwid.)

The movie revolves around the attempt by the two boys to travel form their home in Minnesota to New Orleans, where they've heard that a doctor has developed a cure for AIDS. We follow their adventure and their growing friendship along the way, until Dexter becomes too ill to continue, which leads to the sad conclusion of the movie.

This is a moving story, which isn't built around action or excitement but rather revolves at a leisurely and low-key pace around the friendship between Erik and Dexter. It's a solid testimony to the importance of both friendship and hope, and the impact that both have, summed up by Dexter's mother near the end of the movie. When Erik laments that they hadn't found the cure, she tells him that they did, because before Erik appeared, Dexter's life had been sad, and Erik changed that. This isn't as much of a tearjerker as I thought it might be, but it's touching. (6/10)

I had seen The Cure when I was a kid and I loved it then. Now, years later, I got a hold of a copy almost by accident, and watched it again. Being a kid, you don't really have the ability to procure things for yourself that you want, that is usually a prerogative of your parents - but when I watched it again now I felt sorry that I did not do more to get a copy of this movie back then, and consequently almost forgot about it until today.

This really is a beautiful movie. It tells the story of the unlikely friendship between a hard-edged, misfit kid - who takes his cues from his horrible, abusive mother - and his neighbor, a slightly younger boy who has AIDS.

Right, you say. Another one of "those". A tear jerker. A bucket movie. A morality tail. Yeah, I know, I hate those too. Only this one isn't. It is one of the very few movies among those many I have seen that pulls off a very rare trick: it conveys a truly sad story (and yes, a morality tale) but without a single moment where it feels cheesy, forced or in any other way "hollywoody". It shows a REAL relationship between two REAL boys, who interact as REAL kids do. And through that interaction the good-natured, loving character of the older boy, Eric, starts to shine through his "tough-guy" persona, as he takes on a kind of big-brotherly care for Dexter, his HIV-positive younger neighbor. Together, they embark on an adventure to find a cure - which to Erik seems to be just around the corner - so that all this silly AIDS thing will go away and they can be friends forever.

The production is top notch. But, of course, what really carries this movie, is the performances of the two leads - Brad Renfro and Joseph Mazzello. Especially Mazzello, who is simply stunning - he does convey a sense of frailty needed for an ailing boy, but at the same time he manages to make Dexter a truly energetic and determined character. He shines at the scene where the boys confront Pony: his impulse to protect his older friend lunges him forth, drives him to say what he says - and only afterwards, the horror is depicted on his face, as he realizes that what he himself said is true: his blood is poison... Renfro also has his moments, in particular the scenes with his mother: he depicts perfectly how this macho, street-wise kid is left completely frozen and numb when faced with his abusive, storming mother, and can't get a word in to contradict her as she forbids his relationship with the ailing boy out of her fear and ignorance. Annabella Sciorra also gives a memorable performance as Dexter's mother, who ultimately becomes, in a sense, a mother figure to Erik as well.

I've first seen this film when I was at school back in America, and loved it - not at all a given concerning movies of this sort. But the behavior of the kids in this movie was so real, I could easily relate to them. Ironically enough, the teacher who had shown us this movie (a wonderful woman, I'm still in touch with her) got in trouble for it, as some uptight parent complained about it having the scene when the two boys are looking at a Playboy... Pathetic. Seriously, will Americans ever get over this ridiculous phobia, I do not know. There was a hardly-distinguishable shot of a playboy cover in the movie and thus it is not shown in schools... how sad. Kids need to see this movie. It is more inspiring and educational than all the "official" after-school specials put together.

Oh, and one more thing. I know I'm rambling, but nevertheless... The score. It's great. I am a musician, and as such I know Dave Grusin from his records: he is a well known Jazz pianist and record producer. Up until this movie I really did not know that he did movie scores as well, even though when I later checked I found out that I had unknowingly watched several movies he worked on. Really, a wonderful job there.

All in all, a solid Ten. I'd recommend this movie to anyone. And I'm definitely going to see it with my younger siblings - they can use watching a film like this among all the standard special-effect hysteria they usually see.

Unbelievably close to real life feelings and emotions captured by Joseph Mazzello as a hemophiliac child affected by AIDS and his new young neighbor, a wanna-be tough redneck played to perfection by Brad Renfro. Although the story may seem slightly farfetched (the two boys attempt to river-raft several hundred miles to find a doctor who claims to have the cure to AIDS), the emotion, actions and interactions of all characters involved are tragically close to real life. Being a "big brother" to a boy in a similar situation who died a few years after this film was released, I strongly recommend this picture to anyone who has ever wondered what really happens in the life of a child with AIDS. Superb direction by Peter Horton creates the perfect mood and setting for each scene and draws the viewer into the various emotions affected by friendship, illness, prejudice and the final parting of two friends who fought hard to overcome adversity.

I remember when this film came out, and watched it a few times on VHS. I was so glad when it was FINALLY released on DVD. I was hoping for widescreen, but at the point would take what was available. I love how they used color in the film, the outdoor scenes are so alive with color. The trees are the greenest I've ever seen. Most of the film was shot in Stillwater, Minnesota, a beautiful town located on the St. Croix River. They must have really scouted locations for filming, because they did a great job. The story is well written, and directed. I would rate this as one of Peter Horton's best. I'm also surprised that Andrew Dintenfass (the director of photography) hasn't done more. He did an incredible job. The acting also rates up there. It's amazing to see two actors of such a young age pull off this type of film. Annabella Sciorra did a great job as Dexter's mother. Who wouldn't want her as a mother.

The Cure is a great movie, the only drawback being the short length. The acting is amazing and the direction is great. Joseph Mazzello (Radio Flyer, Shadowlands) and Brad Renfro (The Client) delivered career best (and still best) performances and Annabella Sciorra (Hand that Rocks the Cradle) was good playing Dexter's (Mazzello) mom.

The best movie about friendship! Especially between an AIDs infected person and a " normal " person. This is a great movie for everyone to see even though there is strong language used. I have seen it 25 times.

"The Cure" is by far, the only movie to even make me come close to crying. I almost couldn't hold it in. The film is surprisingly realistic. I also liked how the movie didn't do like others and only use the parents as a device to push the plot forward; they were actually involved somehow and Anabella Sciorra gave a tragically tear-jerking performance at the end. It was realistic and genuine. The film also succeeded in creating a heartwarming bond between the two boys. I found myself caring about them as well as the other characters. I also liked how the boys tried everything, including drinking plants, to cure the disease.

I really liked the movie, thought it was very entertaining as well as dramatic. But I just had a question about the music is the movie. I haven't been able to find any kind of soundtrack(if there even is one). And specifically ,I was wondering if anyone could tell me the name of the song that is playing while the boys are going down the river on their way to New Orleans? I thought it was something along the lines of "My great escape", but I've searched on the internet, books, pretty much everything I could think of to try to, and I just can't find it anywhere. If someone could help out it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

The baby in the movie is Cory Durbin. He gave an excellent performance at only 22 months. So convincing.

Hidehiro kebab who's living in Shimokita has poured out tears

This story grabs your heart and mind and won't let go from start to finish. Not only entertaining, but I was still thinking about it for days after I watched it. Annabella Sciorra should have gotten a supporting actress Oscar for her gut wrenching scene at the end. Probably the most moving scene I have seen in a movie.

The child actors were great, the story moves along at just the right pace. I don't understand why this movie was not more critically and commercially successful.

Raw and unfiltered in an adolescents journey for survival. It's the one friendship we all desire to have at least once in our lives and for some it never comes. I am truly blessed to have witnessed such a great film in my life time. Parts make you feel uncomfortable and are very unforgiving yet also are essential to understanding the fabric of true friendship and dedication. To all that battle this terrible disease my heart is forever with you. Battle and fight! Never give up! This is a must own for the human soul! It will stay with you and hopefully be a strong memory for years to come!