Suicide Club

(the picture is not mine, took it from lovehkfilm.com*)

Sion (or Shion, depending on how you romanize his first name) Sono's Suicide Club (2001) is known for causing two disliked things: confusion and controversy. The film opens with a scene involving a mass suicide of 54 schoolgirls, and concludes with a music video starring 12-year-old girls. What happens in between is bizarre and surprising - including a detective story, lots of satiric gore, a creepier version of Alex de Large and a "mass suicide fad".

Sono's social commentary is harsh, provocative but brilliant. Before he made the film, the suicide rates in Japan had risen drastically. Although it is not obvious at first, Sono tries to point out the problems causing the high suicide rate. The flick's social criticism works on a grand scale - it doesnt examine only a small detail or two. The scariest (and probably the most important) aspect of the content is how mass suicides become a trend among the Japanese.

Sono's approach to the subject is peculiar and fascinating. He performs a trick similar to the one Takashi Miike used in Ichi the Killer: making audience think by approaching controversial topics in a blunt and shocking way. The exaggerated, satiric use of blood gives the film a playful tone (if you arent too squeamish).

In the end, the film is Sono's uplifting message to the Japanese: even though it's "scary and hard" (as the last song suggests), you should keep on living and stay true to yourself. The film's surreal plot might be a bit cryptic at first - especially during the last half hour. What makes the film even weirder is that the preteen children of the film deliver the most important and wise statements about self-discovery and perseverance.

Sadly, the film's content is not perfect. Its narrative is clunky and unfocused. The film is frantic in switching between characters and storylines. Because its running time is short (99 mins), this explosive narrative leaves everything a bit underdeveloped - even though it manages to get its message clearly across.

Sono's form is brilliant as well. He proves he can handle camera panning and editing quite well. He doesnt go too wild with the form - I guess this is good because then you can focus on the content.Suicide Club would be a masterpiece if its narrative wasnt so badly structured. Although you should realise that Suicide Club is by no means an easy film to watch or understand because it is far from a straightforward film: you have to be willing to go beyond its superficial level to enjoy it.

Score: 8 out of 10

* = the link to image source: http://www.lovehkfilm.com/panasia/suicide_club.htm