Suicide Club (film)
Suicide Club is a 2001 Japanese independent horror film written and directed by Sion Sono. It stars Ryō Ishibashi, Masatoshi Nagase, Akaji Maro, Saya Hagiwara, Yoko Kamon, Rolly, Hideo Sako, Kimiko Yo, Mika Kikuchi, So Matsumoto, and Takashi Nomura. The film explores a wave of seemingly unconnected suicides across Japan and the efforts of the police to determine the reasons behind it.
Suicide Club premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival on October 29, 2001, and was released in Japan on March 9, 2002. It was shown at numerous global film festivals and won the Jury Prize for Most Ground-Breaking Film at the 2003 Fantasia Festival. It has since developed a significant cult following.
Plot
On May 27, 54 teenage girls commit a mass suicide in Tokyo by jumping in front of an oncoming train. Shortly after, at a hospital, two nurses jump out of a window. At both locations, rolls of skin are found, matching the skin removed from the bodies of the dead. Detectives Kuroda, Shibusawa, and Murata are notified by a hacker named Kiyoko of a website called Haikyo, which displays a red circle for each female suicide victim and a white one for each male.On May 28, a group of high school students jump off their school building's roof during lunch, sending the city in search of a "Suicide Club". By May 29, the suicide epidemic has spread all over Japan. A man named Masa throws himself off a roof and lands on his girlfriend, Mitsuko, who was on her way home. The roll of skin they receive matches a butterfly tattoo on his back. When Mitsuko is taken to the police station for questioning, they perform a strip search and discover that she has the same tattoo.
On May 30, the police receive a call from a boy, warning them that at 7:30 that evening, another mass suicide will take place at the same platform. The detectives organize a stake-out to prevent it, but nothing happens. Meanwhile, individual and smaller-scale group suicides continue all over Japan, claiming many lives, including Kuroda's entire family. Kuroda receives another call from the boy, whom he accuses of murdering his family. The boy denies this before asking Kuroda what his connection to himself is, and if that connection will vanish in the event of Kuroda's death, unlike the deaths of his family. A second child's voice joins the call and berates Kuroda for his selfishness. Kuroda orders the remaining detectives to launch an investigation into all of the recent suicides before shooting himself in the mouth.
Kiyoko is captured by a group led by a man named Genesis, whose hideout is a small subterranean bowling alley, where he resides with four glam-rock cohorts. Genesis performs a song while a girl in a white sack is brutally raped and killed right in front of Kiyoko. Kiyoko contacts authorities with information about Genesis. On May 31, the police arrest Genesis, whom they assume to be the leader of the "Suicide Club".
On June 1, Mitsuko goes to Masa's home to return his helmet. She observes posters of pop group Dessert on the wall and notices a pattern on the fingers of the group that corresponds to the letters on a telephone keypad spelling out the word "suicide". The boy from earlier calls to inform her that there is no "Suicide Club" and invite her to a secret concert.
On June 2, at the concert, Mitsuko sneaks into the backstage area and sees a group of young children in the audience. They ask her if she is connected to herself. When she asserts that she is, they cheer before leading her into a room and cutting the butterfly tattoo out of her skin.
A new roll of skin ends up with the police; Shibusawa recognizes Mitsuko's tattoo. That evening, he sees Mitsuko at the train station and grabs her hand, but she pulls away. She boards the train and stares at Shibusawa as it departs the station.
Dessert later announces their disbandment and offers gratitude for their fans' support before performing their final song, "Live as You Please".
Cast
- Ryō Ishibashi as Detective Kuroda
- Masatoshi Nagase as Detective Shibusawa
- Akaji Maro as Detective Murata
- Saya Hagiwara as Mitsuko
- Yoko Kamon as Kiyoko/Kōmori-The Bat
- Rolly as Muneo "Genesis" Suzuki
- Hideo Sako as Detective Hagitani
- Kimiko Yo as Kiyomi Kuroda
- Mika Kikuchi as Sakura Kuroda
- So Matsumoto as Toru Kuroda
- Takashi Nomura as Security Guard Jiro Suzuki
- Tamao Satō as Nurse Yoko Kawaguchi
- Mai Hōshō as Nurse Atsuko Sawada
Themes and interpretation
Release and reception
Suicide Club gained considerable notoriety across film festivals around the world for its controversial, transgressive subject matter and gruesome presentation. It developed a significant cult following over the years, and won the Jury Prize for Most Ground-Breaking Film at the 2003 Fantasia Festival.Virginie Sélavy of Electric Sheep Magazine wrote, "Suicide Club has been described as 'muddled' and Sono criticised for not making his satire of pop culture and denunciation of the media clear enough. But the ambiguity of the film is precisely what makes it interesting." Andrew Borntrager called the film "a surreal cult classic full of existential dread and poignant social commentary". According to Jenn Coulter from Visual Cult magazine, the film is "a visual smorgasbord of disturbing imagery". Coulter also mentions that it is almost impossible to explain the plot, determine the genre of the film, or even name the main characters, but overall it adds up to a disturbing yet important cinematic experience.
Justine Peres Smith stated that Suicide Club has "thinly veiled leads", but that sticking to their individuality in "a world where characters want to cease their existence" would be counterintuitive. According to Smith, Sono channels a direct opposite of almost all Western cinema: instead of individualism, dictated by capitalism, he shows the desire to be consumed by the void.