54 school girls are talking, they’re on their mobile phones, waiting for a train to arrive. They all line up, as the train approaches, near the edge of a train platform. They’re jovial, happy, and little seems amiss. They hold hands together to form a single chain and begin to count.

They count to one, then two, as the train slows to a halt, the girls count to three and everyone one of them leaps in front of the train, and is crushed by the momentum of the train. The inertia cuts, destroys and splatters the bodies on the train track, while at the same time spraying buckets of blood on the windows, on the standing and shocked passengers. It is a hilarious scene.

This is the opening 5 minutes of Suicide Circle. It’s tough to decide what to make of the film. Although the initial opening suggests a gore fest, it isn’t really. There are elements and scenes of graphic violence, which may put some people off. However, at times it’s so over the top you can’t really take it too seriously. I often laughed hysterically at the suicides, perhaps a reflection of the seriousness with which I take death. Obviously, very seriously.

It’s also part thriller, party mystery, part comedy, part musical, part satire. It has many elements, which make the film seem a touch disjointed. The film suggests a twist, but the twist is hardly a revelation, as I had figured it out pretty much immediately. There are red herrings, and they work well, but you always know the answer in truth, and there’s a certain lack of satisfaction when you find out the truth.

But, there is a deeper, more philosophical side to the film, and it’s difficult to explain without giving the plot away. What the film seemed to signify, at least to me, was the influence and bastardisation of trends and culture through the ages, and in particular with the current age. Children are often subliminally entranced and enchanted by what they see on television, in the latest fads be it mobile phones or the latest in clothes.

What I liked about the way it was handled, aside from being a theme, is that there is a serious issue about how people treat suicide

As the older generation (represented by the police) try to control and contain this “trend” of apparent suicides, the younger generation still continue and go about their business and follow whatever trend they deem fit. They are so encaptured by this hypnotic acceptance of belonging to something, to a group of people that understand what they understand, that they willingly give their lives for it. It is a film about the alienation of Japanese youth, just as much as it is a reflection of the grip and denial the older generation exert on their children, as well as being a satirical piece on the influences on youth.

There are some very stark messages in the film, and it is cleverly demonstrated, in the fact that even adults feel the alienation and loss of reason for why they live. At the same time, the film tries to demonstrate the link between life and death, that the idea of suicide is not just a result of loneliness, that it doesn’t matter whether you die, or how you die, that life are death are forever linked (perhaps Buddhist undertones of reincarnation of eternal life). The religious sentiments are there, after all, this is a country that is devoutly Buddhist in belief, so it’s quite interesting how the theme has been integrated within references to the bland and trance-like pop culture which grips a nation.

The possibility of a US remake is very much borderline, there are many US remakes of Asian films that have been licensed and not yet made (My Sassy Girl, My Boss My Hero, My Wife is a Gangster to name but three Korean films) as the themes are very, very relevant to a very entrenched and dumbed down culture. In some ways, you could say the film satires American cultures, and indeed it does, this is represented by the music played, and one very obvious character in the way he speaks, and behaves. It’s a Rocky Horror Show moment, but it is brilliant to watch, simply because if this was watched by someone without some understanding of satire it would fly over their heads. It’s a stab at Western culture, but at the same time, it’s an acceptance that it is here to stay and is embedded in Japanese culture.

I was quite impressed by the acting, not in terms of being convincing, but by the sheers understated nature it was handled. You aren’t quite sure who has joined the suicide circle, if there is even such a thing, and if so, how was it formed and why? No one gives the game away, as the film throws clues throughout, it’s up to you to figure out who’s next, with some being more unexpected than others. You often feel for the police, as they try to solve a growing and grisly epidemic across the district, and as the numbers of suicides begins to grow, time also starts to run out for one of the detectives.

It’s tough to decide what to make of the film. Although the initial opening suggests a gore fest, it isn’t really

One of the topics that is touched on is that of suicide (yeah, what a revelation!). What I liked about the way it was handled, aside from being a theme, is that there is a serious issue about how people treat suicide. It is an unacceptable act, the moral majority point their finger and say that it is wrong, that it is a selfish act. However, how do you stop someone that has already decided they wish to die, and if they do so, surely it is not selfish if the life they exist in is that of lonely torture? Are they not allowed to express that loneliness in a manner which has some meaning for them, that, perhaps has some meaning? That is emphasised in the idea that life and death are linked, that they are one and the same, whether you live or die, you still exist and the only thing that exists is the physical shell.

Try to avoid reading reviews that give the game away, or websites with movie information. I read some of them, and if you plan to watch the film, they will only ruin it for you by giving you clues and answers before you’ve even seen the film! There are no spoilers in this review, for the simple fact that you, as the viewer, should play the role of detective and try to piece together the two mysteries: one of mass suicide, and the other being the question about the link between life and death.

I found Suicide Circle to be quite intriguing and very thought provoking. For someone who is Japanese and living in Japan, this may provide a deeper sense of understanding. The interesting thing about this film is it can be seen as simple entertainment, which does its job, or as something deeper with a more philosophical subtext to the main plot. It’s much more complicated than it first appears, and some may consider it a curious and rather tired film, the messages on the surface seem cliched. But then again, if you’re looking at films just at the surface, a Hollywood or Van Damme flick may entertain more.

Verdict: Slow, paced, intelligent satire on the alienation of people in Japan.