Jisatsu sâkuru (2001)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Sion Sono

Writer:

Sion Sono (written by)

Genre:

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 | Police | Platform | Train | School

Awards:

2 wins

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
Yoko Kamon	...	'The Bat' Kiyoko (as Yôko Kamon)
Maiko Mori	...	Kiyoko's Sister
Sayako Hagiwara	...	Mitsuko (as Saya Hagiwara)
Takatoshi Kaneko	...	H.S. Boy on the Roof
Mika Miyagawa	...	H.S. Girl on the Roof

Also Known As:

Suicide Circle (International: English title) (literal title) (Japan: English title) (poster title)
Suicide Club (International: English title) (USA) (festival 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:

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

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Company:

Omega Project

Trivia:

"Mail Me", the catchy song that can be heard throughout many scenes, is actually a "Dezaato" cover of "Mail Me" by Haruko Momoi.

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: I'm Charles Manson of the information age!

Movie Connections:

References The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Soundtrack:

Pazuru

Like Modern Art

To me, the best comments I have seen about this movie are those that say something like, "You're not supposed to understand." Like a roller coaster, it takes you through some shocking and scary stuff and leaves you back where you started with a queasy feeling in your stomach and the desire to ride it again.

Like modern art, different viewers will interpret Suicide Club differently. If you are not imaginative, or if you are closed-minded (some people just are -- there isn't anything wrong with that), simply avoid it. But if you like to be mentally challenged and left not knowing all the answers sometimes, then you'll really like this movie if that's what you're in the mood for.

I'd like to hear more about what other people think Dessart represents. The movie did not ridicule the girl group (average age 12.5); on the contrary, it assigned to them some kind of sinister power. Sure, the easy answer is that, as a pop group, they represent conformity and mob mentality. I think, though, that they might also represent the power of youth, not only over the young, but over adults as well. Were we supposed to like their songs, or not? Their positive, upbeat songs stood like sunny little islands in a hurricane-ravaged sea. I liked them.