Suicide Club (2001) Jisatsu sâkuru (original title)

Director:

Shion Sono

Writer:

Shion Sono (written by)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Sore de wa minasan, sayonara [Well then, goodbye everybody.]

Plot:

A detective is trying to find the cause of a string of suicides.

Plot Keywords:

Suicide | High School | Train | Police | Student

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Ryo Ishibashi	...	Detective Toshiharu Kuroda (as Ryô Ishibashi)
Masatoshi Nagase	...	Detective Shibusawa
Mai Hosho	...	Nurse Atsuko Sawada (as Mai Hôshô)
Tamao Satô	...	Nurse Yôko Kawaguchi
Takashi Nomura	...	Security Guard Jirô
Rolly	...	Muneo 'Genesis' Suzuki
Joshua	...	Slave Boy
Masato Tsujioka	...	Genesis' Gang
Kôsuke Hamamoto	...	Genesis' Gang
Kei Nagase	...	Genesis' Gang
Yôko Kamon	...	'The Bat' Kiyoko
Maiko Mori	...	Kiyoko's Sister
Sayako Hagiwara	...	Mitsuko (as Saya Hagiwara)
Takatoshi Kaneko	...	H.S. Boy on the Roof
Mika Miyakawa	...	H.S. Girl on the Roof
Kei Tanaka	...	H.S. Boy on the Roof
Chika Hayashi
Nobuyuki Mihara	...	H.S. Boy on the Roof
Nahana	...	H.S. Girl on the Roof
Yôhei Katô
Sadaharu Kondô
Suzunosuke		(as Suzunosuke Tanaka)
Satomi Hisanaga	...	H.S. Girl on the Roof
Seiko Hashimoto	...	H.S. Girl on the Roof
Anri Maruyama
Mai Kanda
Noriyoshi Shioya	...	Masa - Mitsuko's Boyfriend
Kasumi Takahashi	...	Masa's Mother
Hajime Matsumoto	...	Tôru Kuroda
Mika Kikuchi	...	Sakura Kuroda
Keiko Suzuki
Yukijirô Hotaru
Miwa Ôtsuka
Makoto Utsugi
Ken Ishikawa
Rika Nakanishi
Kaede Tamiya
Atsushi Okuno
Takuji Suzuki
Madoka Arai	...	Genesis' Victim
Taihei Hayashiya	...	Rakugo Storyteller
Atsushi Numata	...	Stand-up Comedy Duo
Katsuhiko Watanabe	...	Stand-up Comedy Duo
Takamitsu Ôkubo	...	Father
Yuhei Okabe	...	Son (as Yûhei Okabe)
Nono Yamada	...	Daughter
Tateo Moriyasu	...	Kiyoko's Father
Chieko Misaka	...	Theatre Troupe
Asami Hidaka	...	Theatre Troupe
Hiroko Yashiki	...	Theatre Troupe
Haruna Matsuoka	...	Theatre Troupe
Tomoko Shimazaki
Kikuko Sakurai
Satoko Tanigaki
Satomi Yoshida
Hideaki Hagiwara
Yûta Yamazaki
Tsudoi Nishi
Naoko Tsuchiya
Kika Nishimura
Miki Emura
Ayano Nakamura
Yûko Sano
Kôichi Tazawa
Ryuji Kasahara	...	Punisher (as Ryûji Kasahara)
Non Kuramoto
Tomohiko Amamiya	...	Children
Yuika Bandai	...	Children
Seiya Mori	...	Children
Takuya Utsumi	...	Children
Naoto Adachi	...	Children
Takateru Yashiro	...	Children
Noriko Shibagaki
Kaoru Kitada
Miuka Ono
Mariko Matsumoto
Natsuki Yoshino
Megumi Shôji
Sanae Morita
Chikako Arai
Nao Takai
Mio Sakurai
Chika Tajima
Miri Nanazono
Yaya Akiyoshi
Emiko Sora
Risa Tsuyusaki
Nao Nagasawa
Yume Otomiya
Ayumi Seki
Saori Tomita
Tomoko Chiba
Akane Noji
Kazuyuki Kitaki	...	Police Personnels
Taiju Okayasu	...	Police Personnels
Midori Shin'e	...	Police Personnels
Erika Tajima	...	Police Personnels
Chika Kumagai	...	Dessert
Saon Fujita	...	Dessert
Tomoe Adachi	...	Dessert
Miyu Sawada	...	Dessert
Kazumi Sekine	...	Dessert
Mitsuru Kuramoto	...	Oden Stand Owner
Yûna Natsuo	...	Girl By the Stove
Toshiyuki Kitami	...	Shinagawa
Kenjirô Tsuda	...	Mita
Kimiko Yo	...	Kiyomi Kuroda
Hideo Sako	...	Detective Hagitani
Akaji Maro	...	Detective Murata
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kyoko Baba	...	H.S. Girl on the Roof
Hiromi Eguchi	...	H.S. Girl on the Roof
Rina Hashiba	...	H.S. Girl on the Roof
Kanako Hiramatsu	...	Mother Slicing Vegetables
Miki Isa	...	Girl With Sign
Mikiko Isa	...	Girl With Sign
Himeno Maeda	...	Boy
Toyotomi Maeda	...	Girl

Directed by
Shion Sono

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Shion Sono		written by

Produced by
Seiya Kawamata	....	producer
Atsushi Numata	....	executive producer
Junichi Tanaka	....	producer (as Jun'ichi Tanaka)
Toshiie Tomida	....	producer
Toyoyuki Yokohama	....	executive producer
Seiji Yoshida	....	producer

Original Music by
Tomoki Hasegawa

Cinematography by
Kazuto Sato		(as Kazuto Satô)

Film Editing by
Masahiro Ohnaga		(as Masahiro Ônaga)

Casting by
Mamoru Ito

Production Design by
Yoshihiro Nishimura

Art Direction by
Yoshihiro Nishimura

Makeup Department
Yoshihiro Nishimura	....	special makeup effects artist

Sound Department
Masami Nishioka	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Yoshihiro Nishimura	....	moldmaker

Production Companies

• Omega Project
• Biggubîto
• For Peace Co. Ltd.
• Fyûzu

Distributors

• Earthrise (2002) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Cine du Monde (2011) (UK) (all media)
• Daiei Motion Picture Company
• I-On New Media (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• KinoVista (2006) (France) (TV)
• Madman Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (DVD)
• SBP (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• TLA Releasing (USA) (video)

Special Effects

• Nishimura Motion Picture Model Makers Group

Also Known As:

"Jisatsu sâkuru" - Japan (original title)
"Suicide Circle" - International (English title) (literal title), Japan (English title) (poster title)

MPAA:

Rated R for disturbing thematic elements, strong violence/grisly images and some language

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:R21 | Germany:18 | New Zealand:R18 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Japan:R-15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R (2010) | USA:R | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Shinjuku Station, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

Company:

Omega Project

Trivia:

In the trailer of this movie, there's a scene of a person faxing herself, thus committing suicide. This is actually part of the security guard/nurses subplot of the movie, that had to be cut out because with it, the film would have been longer than two hours.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the students jump to their death on the school roof, you can clearly see crew-members throwing buckets of fake blood at the window.

Quotes:

Genesis:Hi there. My name's Genesis. I've had delusions of grandeur since I was a child.

Movie Connections:

References The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)

Soundtrack:

Raito wansu

"Because the dead shine all night long"

Shion Sono's "Suicide Club" is not standard fare. In many ways, I agree with the fact that this film is not for everyone. It is in reality a love it or hate it venture. However, I would suggest that anyone who holds love for the medium of film give it a try. Sitting down to watch this film, I had no idea of the journey upon which I was about to embark.

From the opening mass suicide and the subsequent dark hall patrol of a Tokyo night guard, "Suicide Club" starts with the notion that the film is to be a gore-fest and another dimly lit horror movie. But shortly into the film, such is disproved. A rash of mass suicide plagues Tokyo detectives when they are confronted with the reality that these are not your average end-my-suffering suicides. Are the suicides really suicide? Are they in fact murders? And how do a bizarre website and a preteen girl band fit in? These questions all come into the forefront as writer/director Sono explores some nonfiction issues as well.

"Suicide Club" is not only a social commentary, exploring fads and Japan's disaffected youth, but also a prodding statement on existence itself. What if all the ways in which we have been taught to define ourselves has been wrong? How do we connect with others while remaining connected to ourselves? Furthermore, as an American audience, we have much to gain from Sono's work. "Suicide Club" shows us what would happen if the Japanese had helmed "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"; "Suicide Club" brings the sort of respect to Japanese cinema that "Battle Royale" and "Audition" did. But mostly, it exposes us to a harsh reality -- the limitations of American cinema. The fiercely original and highly intense "Suicide Club" could never be made stateside.

In the end, "Suicide Club" does not leave you with a clear answer to any of the questions that it poses. The film does indeed jump to subplots and twists and turns, leaving some chaos and confusion in its wake. But such is the nature of the topics Sono confronts. "Suicide Club" will not give you a 94 minute break from reality; rather, it will use 94 minutes to prompt you to redefine reality. (Four Stars)