Jisatsu sâkuru (2001)

Jisatsu sâkuru (2001). 1h 39m | R

“A suicide epidemic is sweeping Japan, even among hordes of teenaged girls who are making pacts with each other and offing themselves together. As Detective Kuroda (Ryo Ishibashi) and crew investigate, they begin to suspect that maybe thereu0026#39;s more to it than simple suicide.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn terms of sheer spectacle, surrealism and the impact of its scenes, Suicide Club is simply an amazing, groundbreaking film. As for u0026quot;what it really meansu0026quot; (assuming we could even agree on how that could be determined), it is wide open for interpretation. Everyone is likely to have their own, and not a few will probably insist that their interpretation is the u0026quot;rightu0026quot; one. I donu0026#39;t think mine is the u0026quot;rightu0026quot; one–I donu0026#39;t even agree that there would be a u0026quot;rightu0026quot; interpretation. But at any rate, my current take on the film is that it is an extremely twisted, broad-ranging exegesis on many facets of Japanese culture (and to an extent, it can be applied to other cultures, as well) that is issuing sharp criticism at the same time that it is showing reason for hope.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSuicide Club is a very dense film. By that I mean that it is packed full of meaning, symbolism, references and such. An analysis of each scene would be interesting and informative, but it would take far more than 1000 words (the space IMDb allows). At the same time that much of it may be intentionally cryptic, designed to open up the interpretational field, I think that much of the film is more transparent than its often David Lynch-like surrealism would suggest.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFor example, in the late 20th/Early 21st Century, and especially in 2001, the year before Suicide Club was released, a big news story in Japan (and elsewhere, including BBC and CNN reports) was their relatively high suicide rate. 33,000 Japanese had killed themselves in 2000. The Japanese governmentu0026#39;s Ministry of Health developed a special program to combat the phenomenon. At the same time, there is a cultural history of suicide being u0026quot;honorableu0026quot; in Japan, at least in some contexts, yet contradictorily, suicide has also been looked at as strongly taboo by the Japanese, as something not even to be talked about. Japan is also a culture where a more cyclical view of time and nature is common. The major Japanese religions are Buddhism and Shinto. Many species of Buddhism accept reincarnation, and Shinto has a potential u0026quot;life after deathu0026quot; as kami. In the midst of all of this, The Perfect Suicide Manual by Wataru Tsurumi was on Japanese bestseller lists for years in the late 1990s. So suicide is certainly a complex, pressing issue in Japan.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWriter/director Shion Sono offers his own thesis for the root of the problem, on the way providing a strong cultural critique of Japan (and by conceptual association, similar cultures in other industrialized nations). The criticism is perhaps surprisingly conservative in light of the graphic bloodiness of the filmu0026#39;s images, but we could see Suicide Clubu0026#39;s brutality as partially an embrace of reality versus sweeping the truth under the rug, and partially a Natural Born Killers (1994)-styled self-indictment of the media ageu0026#39;s contributions to the problem.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA major theme is u0026quot;disconnectu0026quot;. Many are wrapped up in their work, in gadgetry and other pursuits so that they lose their connections to their families and even themselves as authentic human beings. It is significant that Sono shows many suicide victims with interlocked hands, achieving a kind of emotional/spiritual/u0026quot;kamicu0026quot; unity before taking the plunge. Another corrupt attempt at achieving the missing connection is realized in long strands of human skin that are bound together and found near some suicide victims. Kuroda, who is investigating the epidemic, is relatively disconnected from his immediate family. They need help, but he only notices when itu0026#39;s too late.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePop culture is initially portrayed as shallow or decadent. Near the beginning of the film, the young girl pop group has a big hit with a vacuous song about e-mailing or calling them. (Did I hear someone mention u0026quot;Kim Possibleu0026quot; (2002)?) The name of the group is alternatively written in English (via posters, video and the subtitles) as u0026quot;Dessertu0026quot; (sweet and appealing, but bad for you if overindulged and consisting of u0026quot;emptyu0026quot; nutrition), u0026quot;Desertu0026quot; (a seemingly barren wasteland, or an abandoning) or u0026quot;Dessartu0026quot; (u0026quot;Dessertu0026quot; + u0026quot;Artu0026quot;). Near the middle of the film, A Ziggy Stardust-styled glam-punk is shown depravedly indulging in sex and violence–an even more extreme version of Malcolm McDowellu0026#39;s Alexander de Large from A Clockwork Orange (1971). Later he becomes a self-styled Charles Mansion-ish celebrity, and he is blamed for having a connection to the suicides, in a typical media/pop culture scapegoating. At one point, the suicides evolve from their initial spirit of a unifying pact to a fad to be indiscriminately mimicked, whether one does it alone or not. It seems that in such an environment, even suicide is not immune from corruption.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film only begins to reach a resolution once characters are lectured on their unwitting alienation/inauthenticity/dissociation from their core values. Children, either as perceptive innocents or wise reincarnates are the primary instruments of this reeducation. Even u0026quot;Desertu0026quot; contributes, as they sing a song about piecing together jigsaw puzzles. Later, when they decide to literally desert their pop stardom, they do so with a farewell song thatu0026#39;s no longer shallow, but full of poignancy and hope. (By the way, all of the music in the film is excellent–I would love to see a CD soundtrack released.) This is a rare film that might be difficult to enjoy without a taste for this kind of deeper analysis, but there are plenty of visceral and surreal delights for horror fans. Those with weaker constitutions may have difficulty stomaching this material, but Suicide Club is an absolutely brilliant film–all of the technical and artistic aspects are exemplary. This is one of the best films of the 2000s.”