Review of Suicide Club (2001) by Jy S — 15 Jul 2008

Once in a while a movie comes along that makes you say "what the hell?!", Suicide Club does just that. Seeing the movie for the first time long ago, I didn't really know what to think; surely it was some kind of exploitation film, the Japanese ARE crazy right? No. I have seen plenty of movies in my time, and surely this has to be one of my favorites. The problem with many people in western culture is, they don't really take kindly to the artistic genius that comes out of East Asia in particular.

Suicide Club is about some kind of freak occurence that causes 54 schoolgirls to throw themselves in front of a train, this of course sparks more suicides throughout Japan...something isn't right here. With a solid performance by Ryo Ishibashi (Audition) and Akaji Maro(The City of Lost Souls), the viewer is sent on a spiraling ride to find out the true meaning of these crimes. Could it be something more than JUST suicide? In the end it seems like very little is solved, which is probably why many have chosen to avoid this title. On the contrary, it makes you [u]think.[/u] That's right, THINK! You are the detective, and you are left with all of the pieces of the puzzle, all someone has to do is fit them together. It's brilliant! There is nothing worse then coming out of a movie feeling disatisfied (No Country for Old Men); but over time you really begin to dwell on it, the meaning behind the story or ending is suddenly soo obvious.

That is exactly what The Suicide Club is going to do, stay in your mind, trying to create some kind of happy ending or meaning behind the suicides. There are obvious hints and some dead giveaways so it shouldn't be THAT hard.

The only [i]real[/i] problem I had with The Suicide Club, was the lack of focus on the character Mitsuko (you will see why). Nearly halfway through she is introduced and the rest of the movie practically focuses on her, talk about delayed reaction.

Other than that small problem the movie is phenomenal; I even got some kind of child-like glee listening to the J-pop songs tossed in there (PAY ATTENTION TO THE LYRICS). I highly recommend this masterpiece, buy it today!