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Kazue Fukiishi, Tsugumi, Ken Mitsuishi, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Shiro Namiki

Noriko's Dinner Table (2005) constitutes a follow-up with thematic similarities and loose narrative connections (though not a direct sequel) to Japanese filmmaker Shion Sono's dark 2002 satire Suicide... read more read more... Club. The time-fractured narrative weaves the gothic tale of the two backward Shimbara sisters, teenagers Yuka (Yuriko Yoshitaka) and Noriko (Kazue Fukiishi). The girls inadvertently become enslaved to a website, Hayiko.com, that represents a front for a perverse theatrical group, "The Family Circle" -- whereby young girls are hired by clients to act out bizarre fantasies. As a product of becoming implicated in the site, the sisters lose the ability to recognize their own identities; one is brainwashed by being forced to watch the mass suicide of 54 young Japanese girls from the earlier Suicide Club. The picture ultimately descends into blood-soaked carnage involving the titular table and a bevy of inanimate domestic objects. Ever the formalist, Sono divides his recit into a quintet of segments, and labels four of five with the names of key characters, each of whom narrates his or her "chapter" in voice-over. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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80% liked it

1,294 ratings

Critics

67% liked it

12 critics

Unrated, 2 hr. 33 min.

Directed by: Sion Sono

Release Date: July 4, 2005

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DVD Release Date: May 27, 2008

Stats: 167 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (167)

  • ceWEBrity
    July 25, 2009
    ceWEBrity
    I came into Noriko's Dinner Table with no real preconceptions created by Suicide Club. I haven't seen that movie in over two years and I wasn't exactly bowled over by it in the first place. This was a blank-slate film experience for me, and it's not a sequel or prequel so much as... read more an independent movie operating laterally to Suicide Club, so why am I even talking about all this. I guess what I mean to say is if you're searching for Suicide Club's meaning in this film you're not bound to find any; instead, consider yourself treated to a director who has no idea what the fuck he's doing. I really liked Strange Circus, but this and Suicide Club are convincing me that Sion Sono just likes to masturbate all over his film reels and see if what he produces is worth anything to his viewers. This, far more than Suicide Club, is a collection of half-developed themes and psychological dead ends, posing plenty of interesting tidbits but never really following through on them.

    Most of the movie is engaging, and by the time you realize it's completely meaningless you feel obligated to finish it anyway because it's so goddamn long. The primary theme of the film, "feeling connected to yourself," is poorly developed and far too oblique to sustain it for its 160 minute running time. If Sono's intention was to get his viewers to examine the subtleties of the film, perhaps he could have kept the voiceover out of it, one of the most overbearing narrations in any recent film. The first hour sounds and plays like a cheap J-drama to no real effect. The flashbacks don't illuminate or deepen the emotional connection to the film at all. All these blank shots suggest to me that Sono had a handful of underdeveloped concepts and images from his novel that he wanted to string together on screen, but discovered that it wasn't as deep or profound as he thought. Admittedly, the notion of a "family rental" unit is great, and the undeniable pain of a father who has lost his daughters to indifference is a juicy emotional crux to stable the movie with (enhanced by strong performances from the father and the older sister). Its lack of focus is frustrating, though. This film is based on a 2002 novel by Sono, and though the adaptation came out the same year as his magnum opus Strange Circus (2005), it's clear that in that three year gap he learned a lot about restraint and framing.

    Gravest of all is Sono's ignorance of a harsh truth: if you're going to make a three-hour art film, it needs to be artistic. If you choose to disregard unconventional narrative and A-to-B storytelling, you need to anchor your project in the world of cinema. Noriko's Dinner Table looks and sounds like shit, probably a trapping of budget. Its cheapness and lack of cohesive vision make the whole project seem like an exceptionally violent soap opera, or again, a trashy J-drama. I would never have expected it from Sono, considering his penchant for pomp, but the movie is so utterly uncompelling on all levels that I feel like it shouldn't exist at all.
  • lesleyanorton
    February 13, 2011
    lesleyanorton
    I thought this might either explain Suicide Club, or be interesting in its own right.
    It didn't, and it wasn't. .
  • whosinthenews
    July 16, 2010
    whosinthenews
    Watch half, take the other only if you have a strong desire to watch a (up til then) decent film circle the drain of pretentious, philosophical nonsense. Ok, that's not quite fair, what the makers were trying to accomplish was a muiti-charater-centered narrative that dreamily mov... read morees between each of their stories in a manner that may or may not be "the truth" of the situation. Who's at fault? Who hurt who? Who wants what? Who knows.
    Believe you me, I'm not a total philistine snob, but even you enjoy the type of philosophical film-making that forces you to dissect for meaning (which I do) this is still too much. By the end you aren't so much confused as you are thinking about what the dinner special is at Denny's tonight...or what it would be like to eat at Denny's crammed in a booth with a bunch of hot, Japanese school girls. Mmm pancakes.
    What was I talking about?
  • threefolddado
    July 15, 2009
    threefolddado
    A surreal semi-sequel to Suicide Club has interesting, and disturbing things to say about identity, teenage herd mentality and the Japanese family unit. One of those films that will either click with you or not. It's quite lengthy but manages to retain your interest throughout.
  • chelano
    August 17, 2011
    chelano
    Director Sion Sono had done a film called, "The Suicide Club" that had an interesting story, but was just a mediocre movie. In fact it had seemed like there were holes in the story. This film pretty much fills in all the holes and has so much more added on. This movie is almos... read moret three hours long and jam packed with dialog. But really good dialog. It almost had a poetic feel to it. This is called semi-sequel, but actually it more or less takes place during the other movie. This film is listed as a horror film. But it is not the gore fest that "The Suicide Club" was. The movie had no scare factor at all. But mentally it was creepy. Two sisters run away from home and get into a business where others rent them to be part of their family. The creepy part is that they take on different names and personalities and they get so use it, they become these alternate people. It really does give the movie a creepy warped feeling at parts. The sisters are played by Kazue Fukiishi; who is a nerdy type girl who becomes more open with her other personality. Then you have Yuriko Yoshitaka; who basically turns into someone else, but mostly stays the same personality wise. The girl who runs the business is played by Tsugumi who has the most warped mind in the film. She loves role playing in these families because she never had one. She likes it so much, it is like she is trying to find the perfect family to stay with. The movie does run a bit long, but in some ways it is worth it because the words spoken and the meaning behind the movie are pretty powerful.
  • GabrielKnight
    April 9, 2011
    GabrielKnight
    Not a horror movie, despite what the cover suggests. I liked it better than "Suicide Club". Having said that, the story is still very confusing and perhaps a bit too long. Once gain, the director leaves the audience wondering what to make of what they just have seen.
  • sleepykiss
    January 10, 2010
    sleepykiss
    I watched this not knowing it was the sequel to THE SUICIDE CLUB. I thought this might actually be The Suicide Club with a different title since I hadnt seen it. All in all, an interesting story (or stories), dream-like, but a bit long.
  • heavyd2000
    December 1, 2008
    heavyd2000
    There is nothing disapointment about this. In many way's better than Suicide Club. This is the greatness I was hoping for from lynch when I saw Inland Empire. This is brilliant. Sion Sono is one of if not THE most important directors working now, and he has made porn. I have yet ... read moreto see a bad film from this man. I Recommend a night where you watch all of his films in a row. It will blow your Fing Mind.
  • kingmob6
    June 17, 2008
    kingmob6
    Possibly Sion Sono's most linear narrative, but still bears the odd questions about identity and self that seem to always pop up in his work.

    I really enjoyed the film, but would've preferred that it lose about 30 minutes of its over 2 and a half hour (!) run-time, some bits (e... read morespecially the last 30 minutes) seemed to drag a bit.

    Recommended.
  • ellenvonrothchild
    June 17, 2008
    ellenvonrothchild
    I was a little disappointed with this one.Suicide Club was better.It didn't need to be as long as it was to get the outcome that we got.Very drawn out and wierd.I got the point,I just didn't care after 2 & 1/2 hours of "whatever".I only recommend if you really,really like these k... read moreind of movies.I could take it or leave it.I only give it 3 stars cuz it was pretty bloody.

View All Noriko no shokutaku (Noriko's Dinner Table) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Kevin Thomas
July 5, 2007
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

Noriko's Dinner Table embraces [suicidal] tendencies with gusto and striking originality. The film is a boldly fragmented and tantalizing saga. Full Review

Leslie Felperin
June 13, 2007
Leslie Felperin, Variety

Too long by half. Full Review

Matt Zoller Seitz
June 13, 2007
Matt Zoller Seitz, New York Times

One of the most ambitious tonal mash-ups in memory, Noriko's Dinner Table is a domestic comedy, a bloody psychological thriller and a comment on the fragility of identity. Full Review

Marty Mapes
June 19, 2008
Marty Mapes, Movie Habit

Has a mind-blowing scene at its climax that takes the whole movie to set up Full Review

Norm Schrager
August 12, 2007
Norm Schrager, Filmcritic.com

part investigative mystery, part cultist drama, and you can pretty much guess where it's all going Full Review

Andy Klein
July 15, 2007
Andy Klein, Los Angeles CityBeat

There is some excessive gore near the end, but, still, this is one of the best films I've seen this year.

Jay Antani
July 9, 2007
Jay Antani, Boxoffice Magazine

Growing up has never felt so god-awful tedious. Full Review

James C. Taylor
July 5, 2007
James C. Taylor, L.A. Weekly

Noriko's Dinner Table is both prequel and sequel to Suicide Club -- but never its equal. It's twice as long and three times as ponderous. Full Review

Jim Hemphill
July 3, 2007
Jim Hemphill, Reel.com

The film is riveting at every moment even when the audience is a little unclear on how those moments connect.

Raven Snook
June 16, 2007
Raven Snook, Time Out New York

Although certain aspects of [director] Sono's opus may get lost in translation, you don't need to know Japanese to understand the pitfalls of contemporary communication. Full Review

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