suicide club , known in japan as suicide circle ( 自殺サークル jisatsu sākuru ) is a 2001 japanese independent horror film written and directed by sion sono .

the film explores a wave of seemingly unconnected suicides that strikes japan and the efforts of the police to determine the reasons behind the strange behavior .

suicide club gained a considerable amount of notoriety in film festivals around the world for its controversial subject matter and gory presentation .

it has developed a significant cult following , and won the jury prize for " most ground-breaking film " at the fantasia film festival .

suicide club ( film )

buy the kindle ebook edition of santa monica suicide club from amazon . . .
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next month , our attention turns to hayao miyazaki’s 1997 animated film princess mononoke , which shares themes with kurosawa’s dersu uzala . the full film club schedule is available on the film club page .
offscreen : i remember when i read about the suicide club that you were thinking at that point of making three films that were connected . is this film part of a trilogy with the suicide club & noriko’s dinner table ?
sion sono is a master of strange . suicide club is nothing short of weird . . if you don ' t know sion sono then i recommend you see strange circus and leave suicide club last .
who are you ? an analysis of sion sono ' s suicide club and kiyoshi kurosawa ' s cure .
our film club title for the month of july is akira kurosawa’s 1975 dersu uzala , the only film that kurosawa filmed outside of japan .
who are you ? an analysis of sion sono ' s suicide club and kiyoshi kurosawa ' s cure . : truefilm
suicide squad is undergoing reshoots to add ‘humour and lightness’ into the film , according to reports .
kyoto mourns about this and she tells saya that she knows the truth . she is seen as taken captive by the other suicide club members , and the following day her ear was pierced with the club ' s ceremonial tattoo .
2007 el club de los suicidas / the suicide club ( santiago ) director : roberto santiago production : tornasol films , spain cast : fernando tejero ( master of ceremonies ) [ a group of men and women in present - day madrid who would like to commit suicide for various reasons come across a copy of stevenson ' s
suicide club
and decide to imitate it . but they find it is more difficult than they thought . 104 mins . ]
a man joins a secret club for those who are seeking to end their lives , only to rediscover his will to live upon meeting the club ' s only female member .
one of the members of a suicide club learns he has inherited some money , but only after he drew the fatal lot and is expected to kill himself .
kyoto finally got it . saya was becoming the new mitsuko , she is now the leader of the suicide club . one member of saya ' s club found kyoto with takeuchi , and reported it to saya . saya thought that kyoto had betrayed her and the following day , it was reported that takeuchi had committed suicide as well .
suicide club has been described as ‘muddled’ and sono criticised for not making his satire of pop culture and denunciation of the media clear enough . but the ambiguity of the film is precisely what makes it interesting . the suicide club is an elusive phenomenon that cannot be attributed to any specific group of people with any certainty . it is a diffuse idea that pervades the whole of society and is not controlled by any one person or group . it’s this idea that makes the film so powerful and disturbing . the suicide club remains very abstract and impossible to pin down to any material reality or evidence . the website that seems to count the suicides before they happen is only a collection of coloured dots on a screen . the name of the pop band dessart is spelt differently in roman characters throughout the film : ‘desert’ , ‘dessert’ , etc . the police officers are unsure whether the phenomenon they are investigating is accident , suicide or murder . and when a new website appears with the aim of fighting the suicide club , it consists only of a revolving white circle : the counter - suicide club can be nothing but another abstract geometric pattern to combat the indefinable , insubstantial threat . the intangible nature of the suicide club is at the heart of the film , and it is therefore logical that there should be no final resolution .
[ 1932
the suicide club
( universal ) a film planned for bella lugosi and boris karloff in 1932 and mentioned again in 1933 before being abandoned ( gary don rhodes , lugosi ( mcfarland , 1997 ) , p . 218 ) . listed by s as an actual film ]
what ' s great about japanese horror , is that no matter what the films they will scare you blind . now with suicide club , they take a whole new concept of what we ' re afraid of the most and they create something that horrifyingly effective . a very original film compared to all the new reimagining ' s of classic horror films , suicide club is an original scare fest , and it genuinely scares you and there ' s plenty of great tense moments to be had within the film . a must watch . suicide club is a harrowing nightmare of a film , a truly terrific concept for its plot with a decent cast make this a terrific little known gem in asian horror . if you love these types of horror flicks , then give this one a shot , suicide club is an intense film from start to finish , one that will keep you interested from beginning to end . this is an entertaining film and one that should appeal to fans of this genre of horror . a fine low budget film , suicide club is a film that has an interesting idea for a film , and the directors clearly have an idea what makes an effective horror film by conveying a new type of fear on their audience . this film is disturbing and chilling , and this is one film that will surely appeal to genre fans . director sion sono is a good director and he has crafted a memorable that will be hard to forget long after you ' ve seen it . a film definitely worth your time , one that has a very chilling concept and is hard to forget .
the only way to get into this exclusive club is to play it very , very cool .
the original form of suicide circle is a novel from 2002 , jisatsu saakuru : kanzenban ( suicide circle : the complete edition ) written by sion sono .
the santa monica suicide club is a crime novel set in what raymond chandler used to refer to as bay city – what he meant , of course , was santa monica .
1973 wide world of mystery : the suicide club ( glenn ) director : bill glenn production : abc cast : peter haskell ( florizel ) , margot kidder ( young woman ) , joseph wiseman ( club president ) [ adapatation in a tv drama series ; 73 mins . ]
cure ( kyua , dir . kiyoshi kurosawa , 110 mins , 1997 , japanese ) suicide club ( jisatsu sakuru , dir . sion sino , 99 mins , 2002 , japanese )
regrettably , the film ' s place - setting opening lays the scene for a different , more exciting film that never really unfolds .
usually , the film names are not revealed until the final time of screening so as to maintain a level of curiosity in trainees . however , this is not mandatory and the film names can be revealed beforehand ; trainees may then choose to watch these films themselves before the club and re - watch it during the club screening in a group , and actively partake in the discussions giving insights into different aspects of the film .
attempts to take on suicide without so much as a token mention of the word “depression” .
suicide circle is a . . . . superb film ! is it easy to understand ? definitely not ! but i think it was designed that way on purpose .
you clearly dont know sion sono very well . a lot of his movies do this kind of mixing of diferent tones and styles . its a truly unique individual , and suicide club is a great movie .
this film ultimately demands the audience to reconsider preconceived notions about suicide and question what it actually meant to truly know yourself , offering the rather skewed idea that death allows you to stay grounded and rooted with you and everyone around you . “suicide club” also provokes you to consider the role of masses when it comes to your own ideals and personal feelings towards death and its elusive nature .
the suicide squad reshoots were first ordered following the incredibly positive response to the trailer , featuring queen’s bohemian rhapsody , that reportedly wasn’t really that representative of the final film .
noriko ' s dinner table ( noriko no shokutaku ) is japanese director sion sono ' s prequel / sequel to his cult hit suicide club . noriko ' s dinner table opens in select us theatres beginning june 2007 . urltoken
2000 robert louis stevenson ' s the suicide club / the game of death director : rachel samuels production : roger corman / new concorde cast : david morrissey ( henry joyce = florizel ) , neil stuke ( capt . may = geraldine ) , paul bettany ( shaw = young man ) , jonathan pryce ( mr . bourne = club president ) , catherine siggins ( sarah wolverton , female club - member ) screenplay : lev l . spiro [ retains the basic elements of s ' s story with added elements including a female member of the club , as in trouble for two ( 1936 ) ; generally judged a disappointing film despite production by roger corman ; 89 mins . ]
a woman traumatized by her brother ' s suicide is inducted into a world of games involving murder .
london 1899 - devastated by the loss of his beloved wife , captain henry joyce joins the highly secretive suicide club , a place where one can be ushered into eternity quietly , and without scandal . this highly secret society caters to an elite , decadent group of aristocrats . it is run by mr . bourne , who provides his clientèle with whatever last vices they desire . membership in the suicide club is an irrevocable contract with only one exit clause - death . however , captain joyce begins to regret his decision after he meets sarah wolverton , the club ' s only female member .
fifty - four japanese schoolgirls leap en masse into the path of an oncoming subway train . this is just one of the indelible images from sion sono’s 2001 film suicide club . sono has since proved himself one of the most daring filmmakers today , exemplifying the japanese concept of “ero guro nansensu” ( erotic grotesque nonsense ) .
large ham : genesis and his gang . also the four women who hang themselves during the suicide montage .
suicide circle ( 2001 ) is part of a trilogy . the second part , a prequel , is noriko ' s dinner table ( 2006 ) . the third film was never been made .
1970 el club de los suicidas director : rogelio a . gonzález cast : enrique guzmán [ contemporary setting for rls ' s story ]
the ebert club is our hand - picked selection of content for ebert fans . you will receive a weekly newsletter full of movie - related tidbits , articles , trailers , even the occasional streamable movie . club members also get access to our members - only section on urltoken
locked in her flat for several years , a reclusive young woman stumbles upon a mysterious web community . according to an urban myth , the suicide club grants death to those wishing for it . unless these
cyber suicides
are actually murders .
i would love to read this , but i haven ' t seen the cure yet and don ' t want to spoil anything for myself . pretty anxious to read any analysis of suicide club , though , what a bizarre ride that movie was .
1909 the suicide club director : d . w . griffith production : american mutoscope and biograph co . cast : herbert yost ( the chosen one ) screenplay : frank e . woods [ no prints are known to exist , n ; 4 mins . ]
offscreen : you also wrote the music for the film . do you play an instrument ?
wahl of , lefkowits jy . impact of a television film on attitudes toward mental illness .
1914 the suicide club ( elvey ) director : maurice elvey production : british & colonial kinematograph co . cast : montagu love ( florizel ) , elizabeth risdon , fred groves , m . gray murray [
no prints are known to exist
, n ]
tuesday , news broke that suicide squad director david ayer will stay in the dc film universe with an all - female film called gotham city sirens , which will star margot robbie as harley quinn . but buried beneath that news is the potential of two other films based on this summer’s dc team up .
according to the hollywood reporter , in addition to gotham city sirens , dc and warner bros . are working on a suicide squad sequel and a spinoff featuring will smith’s deadshot . that’s three films that will directly follow up on suicide squad .
it honestly feels like suicide club is playing a game with its viewer . amidst ( seemingly ) randomly picked up and abandoned plotlines , unexplained plotholes , and general restraint from even quietly uttering its own point , it ' s easy to dismiss this movie as a trashy gore - fest . but you shouldn ' t ! while the theme of modern - day alienation through internet and mass media isn ' t exactly new , suicide club confronts it in a way that will intrigue at least some people : a mysterious website that displays dots representing suicides ; a j - pop band of 10 - 12 year old girls singing saccharine songs and dropping ominous lines like
i need to hear from you right now or i ' ll die
; and a gang of kidnappers calling themselves
suicide club
who decide…
sion sono : well , the starting point was that i want to make a poetic , artistic type of film . i wanted to use film as the tool with which to express myself to the audience , and so i started to change the style of my film to suit this .
’s staff and readers to share their thoughts , observations , and opinions on film and tv .
suicide club is a japanese 2001 horror thriller that makes you as an audience bring a lot of theories , with a story that is a mix of bloods and gore fest and detective crime thriller , and with a cute pop group singing songs that are not what they seems .
if one was to ever question how amazing suicide club is , look no further than the first few minutes to get your answer . in it ' s opening , a line of 54 japanese school girls join hands and jump to their death in front of a speeding train .
sion sono has always been a master at shock films , inciting gruesome reactions to his love affair with gore and lakes of blood . his films are perhaps the most outlandish experiences i ' ve had , from four hour masterpieces about upskirt photography to violent cinema parodies about the yakuza , there really isn ' t much that he hasn ' t already tackled . suicide club is a more intriguing entry in his filmography , with a plot completely shrouded in a tantalizing mystery that is just waiting to be unraveled . no sono film is complete without its outlandish and innovative death scenes , and suicide club naturally is about as fascinating in its showcases of demise as they can…
the last time we discussed dersu uzala at the film club was in march 2009 , with the introductory post and its discussion found here and the other discussions accessible through the dersu uzala tag . you can also find much more about dersu uzala at urltoken .
after 2016’s suicide squad took home more than $ 745 million usd at the box office last year , warner bros . and dc comics are reportedly working on a spin - off film that showcases the joker and harley quinn as bitter rivals instead of lovers . according to reports , the film is set to take place alongside the suicide squad sequel as well as the all - female gotham city sirens following the stories of catwoman , poison ivy and quinn .
a splatterfest with frighteningly cheerful deaths . people , including but not limited to japanese school girls , who are brainwashed by teen pop and internet forums start committing mass suicides . the fact that a horror film like suicide club was made in the early 21st century comes off as not surprising at all considering how at that time the world is charging full speed into the electronic information age .
book ends : footage from a fictional pop group named
dessart
opens and closes the film .
: the movie jumps headfirst into this territory towards the end . the penultimate scene of the film is
the american mutoscope & biograph company bought the rights to this story back in 1908 . the company plans in the near future to do a
feature
film remake of this 1909 unusual short film .
by the end of the film , the only thing that seems clear is that the suicide club has introduced chaos and disorder into society . the fact that there is no rational or criminal explanation for the suicides upsets and unsettles assumptions about the nature , stability and functioning of society . in many suicidal fictions , the impulse for self - destruction stems from a loss of meaning , a disillusion with the values offered by society , and corresponds to a distrust for language ( see the various spellings of ‘dessart’ ) , seen as a vehicle for the authorities that govern that society , and therefore perceived as corrupt . so while for one person to decide that life is meaningless is an act of nihilism that may cause some disruption to the social fabric , when a group of people decides to form a society devoted to self - destruction , it becomes an all - out attack on the values of society at large , almost an act of existential terrorism . this connection between organised self - destruction and the threat to social order is an idea that runs through fictional depictions of suicide clubs , from robert louis stevenson’s 1882 short story ‘the suicide club’ to sono’s film , via quasi - suicide clubs such as fight club ( 1999 ) . and yet , despite their fascinating implications and subversive potential , suicide clubs remain a surprisingly rare kind of secret society in cinema , with sono’s film one of the most formidable , labyrinthine and provocative examples .
the a . v . club : thanks for taking the time to talk today . let’s discuss lights out and how it deals with the subject of depression .
driven to suicide : the main premise of the film is that people all across japan are committing suicide at an alarming rate and is deliberately gruesome ways to get attention . as all but two of the hundreds of deaths in this movie are suicides . the message of the film seems to be getting the authorities and public to open their eyes to the country ' s high rate of teenage suicides , even if it is disturbingly played for laughs half of the time .
shooting the film began in may 1974 on location in siberia , and lasted for almost a year under demanding conditions . dersu uzala premiered in japan on august 2 , 1975 and did relatively well at the domestic box office , although the critical reception in japan was muted . abroad the film was better received , winning both the golden prize at the moscow international film festival and an academy award for best foreign language film .
offscreen : wow , that’s very interesting ! what about kenji fukasaku , for example black rose mansion which features a transsexual man playing the part of a woman , who is always performing . it has a lot of theatricality , like your film . the circus sequences in your film reminded me a bit of this film .
an excellent foreign film . strange though , with some upsetting imagery . not for the faint of heart .
it boggles my mind somewhat that this is the movie of his that won the best foreign film oscar .
a while back , i watched a rather intriguing japanese horror film called “suicide club” . the plot centers around an impending wave of mass suicides that threaten japanese society , creating a sense of mystery and source of panic for authorities who desperately struggle to discover the roots behind these seemingly unmotivated deaths . the film was enjoyable because of how crazy weird it is , with some obscure , almost nonsensical ideas presented without any coherent explanation . as such , the film provides a perfect opportunity for me to go on a philosophical rant to make sense out of ideas that wouldn’t make sense otherwise . before i continue , i would like to disclaim that i do not share nor advocate some of the controversial themes explored by the film , and rather aim to present , as honestly as i can , my interpretation of what the film is trying to convey .
kiyoshi kurosawa’s cure and sion sino’s suicide club are successors of that very tradition . both films disguise themselves as straightforward and typical mysteries that both hinge on a “hook” to draw the viewer in . in cure , there have been a spate of random killings , where the victim is slashes across the neck in an “x” pattern . the perpetrator is always found nearby , and is always different . although the culprits confess to the murder , they are unable to explain adequately their motives for the brutal , bizarre murders . sino’s suicide club has a similar strange premise : gangs of schoolchildren , a lot of them girls , take to committing mass suicide . in the opening scene , close to 50 schoolgirls hold hands and leap in front of a speeding bullet train , seemingly for no apparent reason . what follows is an investigation into this phenomenon as more and more teenagers take to committing mass suicide .
sounds just a tiny bit like heathers , that old christian slater vehicle . high school students kill their rivals and make it look like suicide . the thing is , since all the popular kids are supposedly taking their own life it becomes a trend , the cool thing to do . while heathers is obviously satire , suicide club is something much darker i feel . you must be a riot when there are balloons and needles involved . homemade anticipation .
“ suicide squad , ” directed by david ayer and produced by charles roven and richard suckle , will begin shooting next april in toronto .
both films end on inconclusive notes , there is no neat wrapping up of the plot . there are plot holes , loops and subplots that are wholly abandoned , more in the case of suicide club than cure . while cure might be a technically and philosophically superior film , suicide club holds its own , despite often being dismissed as mindless gore - fest . i am certain that these films will make much more sense to a japanese , for they seem to tackle very distinctly japanese topics . it would be a sin to compare these films to the work of ozu , for ozu is in a class of his own , and there will never be another like ozu , but in terms to japan - ness , they appear similar .
1964 curse of the stone hand director : jerry warren , using footage from carlos hugo christensen (
suicide club
sequences ) , carlos schlieper (
house of gloom
sequences ) production : adp pictures inc . / chile films s . a . cast : carlos cores , guillermo battaglia screenplay : jerry warren [
patchwork film
by inferior b - movie horror - film producer jerry warren ; the
suicide club
segment consists of about 35 minutes lifted from the
brilliantly atmospheric
la dama de la muerte ( 1946 , see above ) filled out with
nonsense hollywood - filmed sequences
starring john carradine and katherine victor ( the
house of gloom
sequences are from schlieper ' s la casa esta vacia ) ; information kindly supplied by jean - claude michel ; see will laughlin ' s braineater horror - movie site ]
awesome , i fucking was nearly blown away by suicide club when i watched it not all that long ago . it ' s so surreal and creepy , it makes my skin crawl , but at the same time , it makes me smile at certain points . there are some scenes that are purely amazing in how they unfold and you are never remotely sure as to where the film may go . when i watched it , i hadn ' t watched an asian horror film in a while with the cluster fuck of asian horror from a few years back . i thought suicide club would be just another seen it all before horror film , but boy was i wrong . there is so much depth and thought in this film , but there is so much left open , that it leaves one to only ponder what it all means . i did a review of it sometime back , and looking at it now , you commented on it . i ' ll take credit for you watching and loving the movie . you ' re welcome . great review , by the way .
kick the dog : a villain in the film , genesis , almost literally does this with a guinea pig .
2014 ( 14th ) marrakech international film festival - dec . 5 - 13 , 2014 - tribute to japanese cinema
if it seems like literally everyone from the breakfast club has worked on psych at some point or another , it’s because everyone has - - emilio estevez being the only exception .
ordinary high school student : most students are just ordinary teenagers with not much to set them apart from others . they still commit mass suicide .
honestly , this all kind of makes sense , though . suicide squad may have been savaged by critics , but it did very well financially . and even critics of the film admitted that smith and robbie were highlights . plus , they’re massive movie stars . you don’t cast them for one film , as popular comic book characters , and then put them on the shelf .
warner bros . & dc are reportedly working on a ' harley quinn vs . the joker ' spin - off film
i do believe that the film requires a bit of suspension of disbelief , but i ' m okay with that .
suicide is a difficult topic to tackle without being sensationalist or reductive . but 13 reasons why manages to fall into both of these categories at once .
i loved the opening scenes of the film , with all the school girls jumping to their deaths . the movie was insane , but so confusing ! as you mention in your review , its not easy to completely understand what this film is about , but like a good david lynch film , the experience is more important then
getting
the movie .
every time i watch suicide club i love it more . it can be hard to grasp the first time , but if you watch closely , this is a gorgeous film - definitely a favorite of mine now . it ' s not a good movie if you ' re in a specific mood - there are elements of b movie gore , touching moments , horror , and social commentary . stick with it and you might find it really gets to you .
since its inception in 1997 . totaro received his phd in film & television from the university of warwick ( uk ) , is a part - time professor in film studies at concordia university ( montreal , canada ) and a longstanding member of
sono is particularly interested in secret societies and cults , which is partly to do with the fact that he joined a cult when he was younger and later became a member of a terrorist group ( as he explains in the 3am interview ) . his early experiences inspired his film love exposure ( 2008 ) , which features the catholic church as well as a sinister religious cult . in fact , the suicide club could almost be a sect : the children and presumed members ask questions such as ‘are you connected with yourself ? ’ and pronounce nebulous statements that would not be out of place in a new age cult . talking about love exposure in the japan times , sono explained : ‘i like exploring borderlines . in this film , it’s the borderlines between perversion and normality , the catholic church and cults . ’ that statement can be applied to suicide club too . sono does not simply use a religious cult as the perverted contrast to the normality of the catholic church , but the cult serves also to highlight the perversions in what we perceive as the norm . in the same way , the possibility of the existence of a secret society called the suicide club reveals the fault lines of the supposedly ‘normal’ society , notably the seemingly unbridgeable divide between youth and adults .
1936 trouble for two / the suicide club ( ruben ) director : j . walter ruben production : mgm cast : robert montgomery ( prince florizel ) , rosalind russell ( miss vandeleur / princess brenda ) , frank morgan ( colonel geraldine ) , reginald owen ( president of club ) , louis hayward ( young man with cream tarts ) screenplay : edward e . paramore jr . , manuel seff photography : charles g . clarke [ loosely based on
cream tarts
and
hansom cab
episodes , adds love interest for prince florizel , a female member of the club who is his chosen assassin ;
hollywood hokum . . . arrant nonsense . . . parade of clichés
, n ; 80 mins . ]
offscreen : somebody once said that ero - guro is half beautiful and half grotesque , so i assume masumi would be the beautiful aspect of the film ? in other words , the film is supposed to be very beautiful but also very horrible .
i feel as though the dc comics franchise may have publicly performed its suicide with this film . what began with a few interesting characters , dragged on into a 40 minute exposition of the film ' s universe and a census of the overpopulated neighborhood . then the big baddie is revealed - - and it makes no sense . the wheels fell off the wagon from there . dreadful . absolutely dreadful .
in the dark , dull shadow cast by zack snyder’s batman v superman – news of suicide squad perhaps aiming for something a little different sounds incredibly promising .
saya koto was an ordinary teenage girl until she joined a certain club , as her best friend , kyoto , had narrated . saya started acting pretty strange , and worshiped the club ' s leader and founder , mitsuko , even going to the point to sell her body to give money to mitsuko . she hides this by telling kyoto that she needs money because her father is sick .
when mitsuko died on the train jump , saya lost her happiness , and she started to gain many more admirers , considering she survived the mass suicide . when a girl was seen picking on saya , it was reported that the very next day the girl allegedly committed suicide , but many speculate she was murdered .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
genesis is the leader of his group which seems to be a suicide cult , but he rather is a poser than having any involvement in the mass suicides .
although i have watched dersu a couple of times from the artificial eye dvd , for some reason i still mentally associate the film with a very poor quality cropped vhs copy that i had in the 90s . it didn’t do the film justice at all .
domino g . impact of the film , “one flew over the cuckoo ' s nest , ” on attitudes towards mental illness .
as for dessart , the innocuous - looking pop band seems to hide clues in their lyrics and promotional posters that would appear to point to some sort of cult of death led by children . however , there is no resolution , no explanation of any kind , and the suggestion of this unlikely conspiracy is left open to interpretation at the end . more important than knowing whether the suicide club is really a secret society of children is the total separation and incomprehension between young people and adults that its possible existence reveals . whatever it is that may lead young people to commit suicide , the film suggests that the adults will always be inherently unable to comprehend it .
as suicide club progresses , the plot becomes increasingly murkier . more and more levels are added , to the point of distraction . suicide club is not as polished as cure , it is rough and often loses its point . but the central theme , that of dislocation , makes itself felt as well . there is a strange boy who often calls the detectives , a boy with a cough that becomes more and more irritating as he talks . this is probably deliberate , the director wishes for us to feel irritation . it is meant to dislodge us , just like the boy is dislodging teenagers from their own lives . he too asks a question , “are you connected to yourself ? ” to the detectives he poses this question , “i know you are connected to your family , to your children , to your wife , but are you connected to yourself ? ” once again , the question becomes one of identity . while cure seems to blame society , in suicide club , it is pop culture and television that seems to be at fault . there are many subplots that don’t serve much purpose , except distraction , but the theme of connection is threaded into each of them . the detectives find a long roll of skin at the scene of the suicides , the roll composed of squares of skin from different people , most of them the ones who just died . in death , this is their connection to each other . even as they leap off buildings and in front of trains , the teenagers hold hands , it is an act of a group , not an individual . in this way , suicide club is often at odds with cure . while cure desires an individual , suicide club wishes for a group identity , a connection to each other that is often lost in the mindless drone of the television and the mass - marketed media .
offscreen : i’m curious because yesterday when you introduced the film you said the japanese do not like this film . i wonder if it is because of the western aspects to the film , especially thematically in terms of the psychology . and with some of the settings , like the circus , there is a lot we can relate to as westerners . is it perhaps too western for japanese audiences ?
i am an idiot for avoiding this for so long . i ' ve always ( incorrectly ) seen sion sono as some kind of second rate , less interesting takashi miike . he ' s not . he ' s definitely not . suicide club is a fascinating , disgusting , wild piece of cinema and a sad reminder of how pathetic and boring japanese films are now compared to the incredible highs of the early 2000s . this was nothing like i expected it to be . though it starts with lots of goofy squelching sounds and a terrible exploding cgi head , suicide club quickly makes it clear that it will be an unpredictable , totally engaging mystery filled with angry satire and no easy answers . some may find its messy structure and tonal jumps difficult…
unflinching , but tender and often humorous , the suicide club is an examination of the last taboo in our society – as well as our deep human desire to connect . it explores why we feel the need to extinguish our lives , how we can pull back from the edge , and how – by saving ourselves – we can sometimes also save the people we love .
also , thank you , vili and ugetsu , for the information on where to find out more about the making of this film .
following the disappointing commercial reception of the 1970 dodesukaden , kurosawa was at the low point in his career . the japanese film industry was quickly shrinking , and unable to find funding for new projects while also suffering from poor health , kurosawa attempted suicide on december 22 , 1971 . the attempt was unsuccessful .
when presented with scenes of scores of teenagers gleefully holding hands and jumping to their deaths in enthusiastic orgies of suicide , i was not disappointed . dismembered body parts were numerous…
having promised a few years ago to revive his decades - old tradition of class , low - budget ( and usually period ) dramas , roger corman makes good on that pledge with the satisfying , if awkwardly titled , “robert louis stevenson’s the suicide club . ” pic is a throwback to corman cinema a la edgar allen poe as well as a forward - looking model [ … ]
i would go as far as to suggest that more than any other kurosawa film , dersu uzala is first and foremost intended as a visual and aural experience . early on in the film dersu scolds the russian soldiers for watching but not seeing , and i think that we as an audience also easily fall into the same trap , criticising the film for its rather uncomplicated plot and somewhat loose structure while not realising that these are , ultimately , secondary to the film’s core intention , which is to present us with the world as dersu experiences it .
i would go as far as to suggest that more than any other kurosawa film , dersu uzala is first and foremost intended as a visual and aural experience . early on in the film dersu scolds the russian soldiers for watching but not seeing , and i think that we as an audience also easily fall into the same trap , criticising the film for its rather uncomplicated plot and somewhat loose structure while not realising that these are , ultimately , secondary to the film’s core intention , which is to present us with the world as dersu experiences it… .
what ' s most chilling about suicide club ? the anticipation and the question of whether or not someone is actually going to do it . i used to be terrified of loaded guns in movies being pointed at someone ' s head . that idea of not knowing just when something is going to explode is extremely nerve wracking , suicide club takes those anxieties and doubles them . introducing you to character ' s , only to see them take their lives for no apparent reason other than the fact that they finally figured something out that you didn ' t . blood ? guts ? gross ? yes . but i wouldn ' t call it the driving force behind the film . and as a matter of fact i was tickled pink at the sight of some technicolor like , red as paint blood during one very wonderful scene involving a knife and some fingers . sure there are moments of fleeting nausea - - - human skin cinnamon roll anyone ?
the cinepocalypse film festival descended once more upon chicago’s music box theatre this past week , providing seven straight days of movie madness , ranging from grisly horror to gonzo action to outrageous camp . while we weren’t able to see every film that screened during the festival—even die - hard genre fans…
the film opens up with 50 high school girls gleefully committing suicide by joining hands and jumping off a platform in front of an oncoming train . the score is playful and the blood - splatter is exaggerated to comedic effect , but everyone plays it straight . director sion sono doesn ' t ease you into anything here .
to celebrate the 30th anniversary of john hughes’ 1985 classic , the breakfast club , stars ringwald and ally sheedy attended a special screening at sxsw ( a digitally remastered version of the film will also be released in select theaters from march 26 - 31 ) . which seems like the perfect opportunity to find out what our favorite detention - goers look like three decades later :
clearly , much of the film was designed as an audiovisual spectacle . throughout the film , we are shown shots of the siberian landscape in its various shapes and colours , enhanced by a soundtrack carefully woven from the sounds of animals , fire , water , wind and other natural elements .
i have not read the manga , but i do know that the film has a prequel ,
noriko ' s dinner table
that delves more into why the events unfold as they do in the film . i haven ' t seen it yet , but it is streaming on netflix .
by the time the closing credits rolled on sion sono ' s apparent ' cult classic ' suicide club , i was well and truly frustrated by my attempt to decode and draw some sense of satisfaction from it , and despite being a fan of sono ' s work thus far ( i have seen cold fish , love exposure and why don ' t you play in hell ? ) , something was amiss here .
i accidently came across this movie after watching the movie based on the uzumaki manga . i was absolutely amazed by it , always trying to guess / work things out and then something more crazy happened which blew all my ideas out of the water and got me guessing again . after i watched the uzumaki movie i realised that there was a lot i wouldn ' t have understood if i hadn ' t read the manga befotrehand , which got me to thinking if it was the same for suicide club , so i went for a search , low and behold , there ' s a manga for suicide club , which also explains a lot to the story , it ' s so deep with so many twists , i enjoyed reading it so much . also it ' s fairly popular so you can easily find scanlations of it online ^ _ ^
when tim burton made his first batman film in 1989 , he cast one of hollywood’s biggest and most dependable stars in the role of batman’s greatest enemy . jack nicholson , already a two - time academy award winner ( he’d later collect a third trophy in the 1990s ) , was paid a king’s ransom for the role ( his cut of the film’s profits ran to an estimated $ 50 million ) and received top billing above the movie’s ostensible lead michael keaton . since then , the joker has remained the most prestigious comic - book movie role , winning heath ledger a posthumous oscar for 2008’s the dark knight ; jared leto was cast in the role in suicide squad not long after his oscar win for dallas buyers club .
sometimes they are like the seed sown on stony ground . the suicide club is andrew williams’s fourth novel , and it removes any doubts . it establishes him as an unusually accomplished craftsman , a master of the intelligent historical spy thriller . his research is thorough and has been absorbed ; it never obtrudes . his imagination works in harmony with his powers of observation . his plotting is intricate and coherent . the narrative drives compellingly along .
spoilers ahead . the big question posed by the whole movie is
are you connected to yourself
is the only real connection between your soul and yourself is that of your body , then what is the point really ? the people commiting suicide in the film are severing that chain , thus forcing their spirit and their self to be whole .
i saw this one awhile back - i also had the same reaction . after watching the film , i also wanted to know
why .
it ' s a very intriguing and interesting film . though , i guess it will always remain a mystery to me . nice post , thanks for sharing !
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
the suicide scene itself is almost unbearably difficult to watch . to its credit , it contains no euphemistic photo montages or sad indie ballads , but the realism of the scene feels uncomfortably close to a how - to guide to suicide . it teeters dangerously on the edge of emotional torture porn , a territory already frequented at an alarming rate by the very teenagers that the show is desperate to help . the show is right to be trying to provide teenagers with a lesson in compassion and sensitivity , but watching hannah baker cut her wrists in high definition isn’t doing anything for youth suicide prevention .
offscreen : o yes , i’m not saying that , but the sensors in north america look for these things and don’t make a distinction between a sophisticated film that is dealing with it as a subject and a pornographic film . that is why i am surprised that a distributor has picked it up , but that is great . along with that we have had a lot of american remakes of j - horror , but i don’t think there has been a remake of an ero - guro film , and that is probably because it would be too problematic , with the ero - guro mix of sex with violence . i think in a way that is a good thing . it is a way for you to protect your film , because you know they won’t ever remake your film .
in early 1973 , the soviet film studio mosfilm approached kurosawa asking if he would be interested in working on a new project with them . kurosawa agreed to the idea and proposed to film an adaptation of russian explorer vladimir arsenyev’s autobiographical work dersu uzala , a book kurosawa had been considering for a film from as early as the 1930s . in the book , arsenyev narrates his experiences with the titular siberian hunter who acted as his guide for several expeditions to the russian far east .
in tokyo , 54 schoolgirls leap in front of a subway train committing suicide . shortly after , at a hospital , two nurses kill themselves by jumping out of a window . at both locations rolls of flesh are found , with the missing skin matching removed flesh on corpses . three detectives are notified by a hacker named kiyoko of a link between the suicides and a website that ties the mystery to an internet suicide cult around a guy named
genesis
. within the next days , the suicide epidemic spreads over japan and many more deaths occur . will the police be able stop this mysterious epidemic ?
suicide squad isn ' t as fun of a ride as guardians of the galaxy . it could have been , with more performances like jared leto ' s and margot robbie ' s . . . .
follows a group of 12 high school students as they piece together a story as it is described on a series of cassette tapes left for them their classmate hannah baker , who has died by suicide .
offscreen : another way of looking at it , because the film has a story within a story structure , with the masumi character ( taeko ) as the writer of the story , is that we are seeing her imagination . it could also be a film about the creative process , something like barton fink for example . or a little bit like 8 ½ where you see the creative process of a director who we see trying to make a film . in this film we have a writer who we learn is trying to write a story , and we are seeing the story which we think is fiction but then it becomes metafiction , a fiction inside of a fiction . we can never see inside the artist’s mind but the film is an idea of what it would be like inside an artist’s mind .


the art of being straight is a 2008 film by jesse rosen on malvern productions .

he also wrote the screenplay and plays the lead role of jon .

the film explores jon 's unexpected search for identity .

the film was an official selection at the 2008 frameline film festival ( san francisco lgbt film festival ) and the philadelphia international gay & lesbian film festival

the art of being straight

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the art of being straight
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the art of being straight is not available at this time . instead , check out andré téchiné ' s wild reeds , which is currently showing on mubi .
we’d love your help . let us know what’s wrong with this preview of the art of being normal by lisa williamson .
the art of being straight is a movie starring jesse janzen , tyler jenich , and bryan mcgowan . a sexy , comedic drama about two college friends questioning their careers and sexuality in east los angeles .
the bi writers association is sponsoring newfest’s lgbt film fest screening of the art of being straight on wed june 10 th @ 10 : 30pm at the school of visual arts theater on 23 st , 8 - 9 ave in manhattan . three ways to purchase tickets
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you gave jon the quality of being able to get any girl he wants . so you make it clear that being hard up isn’t the reason he sleeps with paul .
interview with jesse rosen , on the art of making a bisexual film and his own personal coming out .
jesse rosen ' s microbudgeted indie , in which he also stars , explores the issue of sexual identity in a way that is meant to be thoughtful and provocative but which has little more depth than the old joke about bisexuality being a good way to double your chances for a date on a saturday night .
the art of being straight
is far from the worst of the recent plethora of gay - themed films , but its best chances of exposure will be on vod .
with surprisingly good acting and a smart script , the art of being straight takes a nuanced approach to young adults ' struggles with sexuality issues . the film failed to significantly grapple with issues of how the other people in the characters ' lives might react and the impact of that reaction , which is unfortunate because it leaves the film feeling incomplete . nevertheless , the film is funny , intelligent and well worth watching .
the buzz around the release of the art of being normal has been crazy ! so many of my trusted friends and fellow reviewers have loved it so the pressure was on when i chose to read it myself . williamson has created a novel i wish had been written years ago . it’s incredibly brave – i don’t think there’s anything too similar to it published at the moment – and it stands out because of its themes and content . however , i’m sad because i wish there were more books just like the art of being normal . i’m
a gay internet connection is made , but entanglements ensue due to hiding behind the name and photo of a straight male stripper who happens to return to the area .
this film is about a young man who moves to los angeles to pursue his dreams . his life gets complicated when his boss takes a special interest in him .
the art of being straight
is a realistic down to earth story . the lead character jesse rosen is handsome and is convincing as a confused man . however , the story telling is not so good . it fails to create tension or suspense . there is little to stir the emotions of viewers , which i find a fatal flaw . the only interesting character is rachel castillo , whose performance is the most natural and convincing . i guess
the art of being straight
might be an autobiographical account from the writer . it is not terrible , it is not particularly entertaining either .
the art of being straight is now playing at quad cinema on w . 13 th street in nyc and opens june 12th in la @ the laemmle music hall theatre in beverly hills . ft . lauderdale , palm springs , and columbus , ohio to follow . check your local lgbt film fest calendar . it’s also running on here tv and here on demand .
it ' s not easy being attracted to guys when you are stuck in a straight man ' s body . . . at least that ' s the hurdle josh ( jesse rosen ) appears to face after he arrives in la to begin a new life . surrounded by his exclusively hetero friends , josh is more than happy to be a willing participant in their world of bars , booze and loose women - after all he has just come out of a long term relationship with a girl . but things start to get complicated after he begins work at an advertising agency , and meets paul , a sexy ad director , who won ' t take ' straight ' for an answer ! littered with smart dialogue and brilliantly subtle performances the art of being straight is a savvy , comic story about the fluidity of sexuality and the bonds between people that transcend stereotype .
but she hasn’t just been hiding the dramatic plot of the movie from the public .
we discover that jon’s presumably straight sexual history up to this point hasn’t been quite as straight as it appears , when he confesses to paul that he got drunk and fooled around with a guy back in high school . when did you first have feelings for guys ?
all this might portend a certain harshness in my response to the affable “art of being straight , ” but rather i’m just trying to impress that good - natured dv debuts deserve their critical fair shakes as much as any larger - scale indie or even studio product ( something that those who leave irate comments on reviews don’t quite understand ) . and inoffensive as it is , rosen’s personal soul - searcher is certainly rickety , featuring all the signs of being unpurposefully unpolished ( clunky editing within conversations , overreliance on stultifying close - ups , anonymous spaces stripped of personality standing in for viable art direction , sloppy scene transitions that often seem to go on a beat too long ) and many hallmarks of the indie playbook , including a heavy dose of wimp - rock on the soundtrack–here courtesy of the musical theatre–and even blink - and - miss cameos from those purveyors of dull non - conversation - making , joe swanberg and greta gerwig , hanging out at a party .
the title is the cleverest thing about this minor indie portrait of sexual confusion .
lisa williamson ' s the art of being normal is a moving , well - written reminder of how brutal , yet how beautiful , the world can be to those who are different . david piper has really never fit in . apart from his two best friends , most of his fellow high school students ridicule him for being different . one of the school bullies has called him
freak show
since they were younger , but david is willing to wait him out until high school ends . his parents think he is gay , and are waiting for him to tel
jon tells maddy , his female friend who has a girlfriend , first , then comes out to his straight best friend . what was your coming out process like ?
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
in college , i started to become more curious about guys , but somehow had been pigeon - holed as being straight , and either never felt like i had the opportunity , or just wasn’t attracted enough to any one particular man to make the effort . i’d fantasize , and then in reality , fantasy was always far superior .
the coming of age tale of an extraordinarily gifted young dancer recently arrived in new york city .
it ' s high time the world of ya fiction had a real contender in the t corner of the lgbt spectrum , and lisa williamson stands up to the plate magnificently . ' the art of being normal ' follows david , who stumbles through the minefield of high school and puberty knowing in his heart that everything is wrong . . . because he wants to be a girl , knows he is supposed to be girl . navigating bullies gets a little easier for him though with a well aimed punch from leo denton , who struggles alongside david wit
fantastic . highly recommended . the art of being normal is the story of a transgender character named david , and his journey to finally telling his family ( and the rest of the world ) that he wishes to be referred to as kate , and would like to begin transitioning . i have to be honest and say that i don ' t believe i ' ve read a book about a transgender character before , certainly not as the main focus of the story . i know they exist , so it ' s either down to my own lack of diverse reading or a distinct l
have you ever finished a book and thought…that it was important ? that the story that’s being told is one that everyone should hear ? that’s how i felt about “the art of being normal” . i feel like everyone needs to read this . it’s an important message about our society today . and it it’s just a damn fine book , too . david has a secret . he hasn’t told his family . he hasn’t come out to the world with it . only his best friends , and his trusty journal know the truth . if he could be anything in the world
3 . 5 stars loved the introductory exploration of trans issues in this book , even if it faltered in other areas . the art of being normal follows two protagonists who both go to eden park school : david piper , a biological male who has always wanted to be a girl , and leo denten , an outsider with dark secrets of his own . though the two seem quite different - david , more reserved and wistful , leo , more moody and confrontational - a twist of fate brings them together in ways neither of them expect . i app
sigh . another disappointment crossed off the tbr . i was so excited to read this , especially after seeing so many rave reviews , but unfortunately this was a story that did not make it on my memorable list . my main issue with the art of being normal is that it ' s a tale of transgender teens told by a cisgender author . now admittedly , i knew that from the beginning but i was optimistic that it may have worked out . i believe in giving authors the benefit of the doubt until i ' ve seen the proof in their
[ michael koresky is co - founder and editor of reverse shot and the managing editor and staff writer of the criterion collection . ]
smart without being smart - alecky , mr . rosen ' s writing avoids the aggressive cleverness and gummy politics of many similarly themed movies , focusing instead on realistic dialogue and low - key interaction .
the buzz around the release of the art of being normal has been crazy ! so many of my trusted friends and fellow reviewers have loved it so the pressure was on when i chose to read it myself . williamson has created a novel i wish had been written years ago . it’s incredibly brave – i don’t think there’s anything too similar to it published at the moment – and it stands out because of its themes and content . however , i’m sad because i wish there were more books just like the art of being normal . i’m going to make it my mission to seek them out ! i hope it leads the way to similar books being published . david has one wish : he wants to be a girl . it’s something that only his two best friends know . as he starts a new school year , leo denton starts in year eleven , a boy shrouded in mystery . he is determined to be invisible . the school year plays out and the two boys find out that things at eden park school don’t stay secret for long . i really loved both protagonists and especially how distinguishable they were . each stood out on their own but also interacted well together , which is what i love in a multiple perspective novel . david was such a loveable character . being the same age , i thought i could relate to him a lot and really sympathise with his situation . i wish he were my friend ! leo’s character development was amazing to read . it was almost as if it was unfolding in real time and i loved seeing him grow and change . authors take note – this was a perfect character arc ! please , please , please read the art of being normal ! i want to scream from the rooftops about it , and i know i’m not the only one !
it’s interesting that andy , jon’s straight guy best friend and roommate doesn’t have much of a reaction to jon telling him he had sex with a guy , even though he is your typical , somewhat homophobic , ex - frat boy . in your generation , has it become more of a non - issue ? are many straight guys who make comments like , “that is so gay , ” when faced with an actual friend saying “i slept with a man” not that taken aback ?
structured like a comedy , but outfitted with only the most tedious sexual - identity riffs , generic characterizations , and no singular point of view , the art of being straight finds a perfectly bland putative hero in jon ( writer - director jesse rosen ) , who does awfully well with women for a guy who has what could be mistaken for “a herpe”—as woody allen used to call it—visible on his lower lip . moving to l . a . from the east coast on a rebound from an ex - girlfriend , jon finds his office - flunky job draws the lascivious attention of his boss paul ( johnny ray rodriguez ) , and despite the lad’s straight - faced denials , a wine - fueled roll in the hay follows . the film’s typically blasé etching of the older man makes it impossible to guess whether he’s meant to be judged as predatory or not , until we are reminded that , after all , he’s an ad executive . meanwhile , jon’s lesbian college chum maddy ( rachel castillo ) dithers over moving in with her girlfriend just long enough to flirt over a bong with the scruffy hipster guy next door ( pete scherer ) .
despite its promising title , jesse rosen’s tiny l . a . - set “ the art of being straight ” isn’t really about contemporary codes of masculinity or the rattling task of “passing” as heterosexual . rather it’s a flimsy pseudo - autobiographical character piece from a first - time filmmaker playing an approximation of himself so dewy - eyed cute and effortlessly naive that many audiences will be hard - pressed to find enormous fault . after all , the “likability” factor goes a long way in negligible indie fare , and certainly in small - budget gay - themed niche moviemaking , at times even held up as an ideal equal to such matters as coherent editing and photography and certainly to performance . tact and charm are attributes , but a rewarding movie experience they don’t necessarily make .
is one of those pieces of literature that tries to do that , and does a good job , but overall the plot , the writing , and the supporting characters are pretty average .
one of the great films made by the generation after the french new wave , andré téchiné’s wild reeds , a four - time césar winner , is a teenage drama electric with currents of sexuality and politics . the 1962 setting is precise ( the franco - algerian war ) , yet the tensions live on into the 90s and today .
the collective genius of the internet has once again worked its magic . a group of reddit users have gone about collecting a series of photographs that are not from a wes anderson film , but might as well be .
your film got an art house theatrical release and is running on here tv . did those deals help you break even ? or is this film just an expensive resume for your next job ?
fantastic . highly recommended . the art of being normal is the story of a transgender character named david , and his journey to finally telling his family ( and the rest of the world ) that he wishes to be referred to as kate , and would like to begin transitioning . i have to be honest and say that i don ' t believe i ' ve read a book about a transgender character before , certainly not as the main focus of the story . i know they exist , so it ' s either down to my own lack of diverse reading or a distinct lack of books covering this topic . . . i suspect it ' s a bit of both . i enjoyed this immensely , it ' s very easy to read and i liked both of the dual povs ( i also appreciated the use of different fonts for both just to keep me on track ! ) it features some serious and important themes , all of which were handled well , including of course sexuality and gender but also bullying , family relationships , poverty and abandonment . . . probably a few more too . but beyond the struggles of david and leo it never felt ' heavy ' , if that ' s the right word . i certainly felt sad and angry , as well as happy and warm , but i enjoyed the whole journey . as others have said , a must read if you enjoy the work of david levithan and maureen johnson .
it is a beautiful , signature look ― and apparently one that , every so occasionally , people around the world have stumbled upon in real life too . hence , “ accidental wes anderson , ” a brilliant subdivision of reddit where people are collecting reality’s best attempts at recreating anderson’s art .
gay men must drag the abjectness of their bodies around for so long it’s easy to imagine porn as the ultimate stage for their fresh - off - the - closet desirability . much like the nouveau…
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in the second part of the book the roles are reversed , but the way leo’s character is given depth is by sending him and david on a wacky road trip . it’s fun to read about , and the drunken scene in the pub made me laugh , but the trip lacked emotional impact . williamson certainly tries to give us the feels , but the attempt feels pretty forced .
i don ' t think i ' ve ever been so happy to finish a book . and i don ' t mean that in a bad way , i literally finished the book with the biggest grin on my face , content with the ending and slightly wanting more kate ( david ) and leo . i ' m so glad this book was mainly focused on finding ones true self , as well as true friendship . you know , the type of friendship you ' ll have for life . however , i also have to be open and honest to the slightly problematic aspects of the book too . do i think this represented transgender people in the best way ? absolutely not . the author is a cis female and could never fully understand what it ' s like to be transgender , all the issues people with gender identity issues go through . i also felt like the romantic aspect was seen as a laugh at the expense of kate which made me uncomfortable . the art of being normal is a good place to start out but there are so many more better representing books out there .
you must have heard about the art of being normal by now and , if not , i ' m not sure how you have managed to miss it . published on 1st january , it ' s one of the most talked about ukya novels published this year so far , and has certainly set a high standard . fourteen - year - old david piper has only told two people – his two best friends , essie and fox , who have both been incredibly supportive – that he has wanted , needed , to be a girl ever since he was a small child . david has written a letter to his p
the psychologically flat script isn ' t nearly up to the task of depicting the pleasure within confusion / despair ( or vice versa ) ; neither are rosen ' s acting chops .
one of the film’s neat tricks , and also one of its great calamities , is that rosen and castillo , who obviously have an innate chemistry , share only a small handful of scenes ( rosen’s hesitant sorta - coming - out scene to castillo is undoubtedly the film’s highlight , shot and performed with an ease the rest of the film desperately craves ) . this leaves them each a bit unmoored and interacting with a cast made up of many greatly unskilled performers — all rosen’s scenes with his straight - arrow roommate jared grey fall flat , as do those with rodriguez , whose odd approximation of an alpha boss makes the character an unnecessarily hateful predator . castillo’s magnetism grows ever clearer in light of the other actors — considering that as written maddy registers as little more than a hostile hipster harridan ( she’s often needlessly sarcastic , even to strangers , even when smoking pot and . . . reading sartre ? ! ) , it’s near miraculous that the actress is able to so shine through .
the actress and director both love the genre , but as they told indiewire , they also knew it needed to be retrofitted to tell the true story of catherine weldon and sitting bull .
david longs to be a girl . david is a girl who longs for acceptance . the art of being normal was not what i had expected . i would say that this is a good introduction for someone who wants to know more about life as a transgender kid and adolescent . it is a heartfelt novel , for sure , but not a perfect one . i had difficulties connecting with the characters , especially with david . she is 15 years old if i am not mistaken , but she acts like a 12 - year - old . in most situations , david and her friends seem
i’m transgender myself and i work with transgender youth , so of course i’m bringing that to the table . i didn’t hate this book – in fact , i quite liked large parts of it , but there are a few issues that drag it down . one of them was that i don ' t feel like it was written with transgender people in mind as a part of the key audience , unless they ' re teenagers still trying to figure out even the most basic things . but at the same time , it ' s a bit of a narrow representation of transgender people . the
if you’ve ever seen a film by the 48 - year - old anderson , you’ll know that the component parts of one his films are unmistakable .
boys on film comes of age with ten uplifting and powerful tales recounting the lives of everyday heroes with no special powers except striving for their own identities and fighting for the right for us all to be ourselves .
lane and schoenbrun discuss how her interest in morgellons disease patients ( “the pain of others” ) and his exploration of the slenderman myth ( “a self - induced hallucination” ) led them to make archival films from youtubes .
that friendship however isn’t strong enough to mask the thin plot of the book . in the first half of the novel the focus is on david and his problems with body dysphoria ( which were realistically described , in my cisgender opinion ) . not much happens to leo , apart from him falling in love with alicia and experiencing some family drama .
i’m not sure it’s a non - issue , certainly depending on place ( i’ve seen some pretty homophobic responses to the trailer on the internet ) , but i think my generation can be very accepting of being gay . just not much in between . you rarely hear anybody ask , “is he / she bi ? ” if you have to ask , i think that’s a better question . the question , “are they gay ? ” is one of the reasons i wanted to make the film . i think it says a lot about how are society views bisexuality .
i’m transgender myself and i work with transgender youth , so of course i’m bringing that to the table . i didn’t hate this book – in fact , i quite liked large parts of it , but there are a few issues that drag it down . one of them was that i don ' t feel like it was written with transgender people in mind as a part of the key audience , unless they ' re teenagers still trying to figure out even the most basic things . but at the same time , it ' s a bit of a narrow representation of transgender people . the full review is at my blog and contains spoilers .
silent youth is a film for misfits , dreamers and lovers . it ' s the classic story of a coming out , but it focuses on the moments one tends to quickly forget : the first approach , the creaking . . . see full summary »
“literally people i’ve known for my entire life , i was like , this is the premise of the movie . . . and then they’d get out of the movie , and they’re like : ‘i have to talk to you for two reasons . one , our friendship is over . two , i loved the movie . ’”
when i first picked up this book i had really high hopes for it . the idea of a young transgender protagonist was really appealing and ( as fickle as this may be ) i love the cover . it ' s what drew me in . having just finished the book , my overall thoughts are good , but not great . story wise i really enjoyed it . i think the overall story was great . both david and leo are wonderful characters and i loved their inner monologues of their struggle with being transgender ; they were thoughtful and they wer
a sweet ya - story with a couple of amazing diverse characters , although the story itself could have been better .
is the author of this book transgender ? i ' m very hesitant about reading books focusing on lgbt + issues if the author isn ' t lgbt + themselves .
he takes a low - level job at an ad agency , where he becomes the sexual object of attention of his predatory gay boss ( johnny ray rodriguez ) , who , despite being thoroughly obnoxious and repugnant , soon manages to seduce his new hire . also experiencing sexual confusion is jon ' s best friend , maddy ( rachel castillo ) , a lesbian in a committed relationship who finds herself falling for the sweet guy ( peter scherer ) who moves in next door .
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and by the look of things , they’ve done quite a good job over their first couple months in business . we’ve said all we can . just look at the photos .
in an episode dedicated to the show within the show , “glow” illustrates its grand capacity for storytelling , and the very good tv podcast breaks down how .
no connection but that’s great . i was however , lucky to discover my old college roommate’s songs , matt studivan , aka the musical theatre , who provided most of the soundtrack .
if you’ve ever seen a film by the 48 - year - old anderson , you’ll know that the component parts of one his films are unmistakable , regardless of the project’s theme and characters . there are the eye - popping colors and the strong , well - defined lines . there are the eccentric architectural triumphs and eerie quiet . but most importantly , there are those shots ― the ones that zoom in and out with an almost borderline obsessiveness in their quest for near - perfect , everything - just - so symmetry .
two boys . two secrets . david piper has always been an outsider . his parents think he’s gay . the school bully thinks he’s a freak . only his two best friends know the real truth – david wants to be a girl . on the first day at his new school leo denton has one goal – to be invisible . attracting the attention of the most beautiful girl in year eleven is definitely not part of t
although reasonably insightful in its portrait of confused twentysomethings , the film lacks the depth to be interesting , and its lead character ' s sexual experimentation is not depicted in particularly convincing fashion .
hi ! i ' m cis - gender . i was inspired to write the book following two years working at the gender identity development service . i ' ve had lots of really …more
oh , this is one cute diversity read ! i highly recommend this if you love simon vs . the homo sapiens agenda ! just like in simon , in this book it is about a diversity character , in this case a trans , but without the book being written in a learny way . you get to know david and you learn what it ' s like to be trapped in the wrong body because he is . and i also like leo a lot ! and i like how , at least in the dutch version , the different point of views are indicated with different fonts . i really like
a car mechanic in a small , working class town comes out of the closet to his unsuspecting , blue - collar best friends .
normal
kids don ' t see therapists .
normal
kids don ' t have mothers like mine , who tell you life isn ' t fair with messed - up glee , like the unfairness of life is pretty much the only thing they know for sure . i ' ve spent my whole life being told i ' m the complete opposite of
normal
. i ' m sorry , but i loved this . i don ' t know why i ' m apologizing , since i ' m on this website to either hate or love a book no matter what others thought about it , but i feel like this is another one of those books that
your plot reminds me of a song by peter allen called “bi - coastal . ”
structured like a comedy , but outfitted with only the most tedious sexual - identity riffs , generic characterizations , and no singular point of view .
eric kohn and anne thompson discuss their favorite films of the year so far . they also debate several new releases and share some streaming recommendations .
the writer - director plays the lead role of jon , a nice young man who has recently moved from new york to los angeles after taking a
break
from his relationship with his girlfriend . moving in with his old college buddy andy ( jared grey ) , he finds himself hanging out with the sort of macho guys who preface every observation with the phrase
that is so gay .
ant - man and the wasp , starring paul rudd and evangeline lilly , took the top spot at . . .
i was also a bit disappointed by the author’s treatment of transgender topics like bullying or transitioning . some bullying does takes place in the book , but it isn’t treated seriously ; while in reality , prejudice against transgender people is pretty severe . the discussion of gender and sex changes neither goes very into depth . the reason why has to do with an important plot reveal , so i’ll tag this for spoilers .
“a lot of white people don’t see it coming , ” williams told huffpost . “and then they try to talk themselves out of it . ‘maybe she’s been hypnotized too . ’”
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williams told huffpost that she’d already been sold on the script by the time rose appeared on - screen for the first time . the opening scene follows lakeith stanfield as a young black man walking alone in a white suburb , a scene williams pointed out is reminiscent of the shocking killing of trayvon martin in 2012 . “after i read that scene , i was like , ‘i don’t really care who rose is , i definitely want to be in this movie , ’” she said .
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after reading reviews by transgender readers , i ' m lowering my rate of this book .
a shy but smitten college boy pursues a ny go - go boy through the pretext of making a documentary film about him , with the guys knowing each other only as
doc
and
go .
not to get repetitive , but the lighthouses in iceland really are perfect . this one is from the westfjords . from accidentalwesanderson
oh , this is one cute diversity read ! i highly recommend this if you love simon vs . the homo sapiens agenda ! just like in simon , in this book it is about a diversity character , in this case a trans , but without the book being written in a learny way . you get to know david and you learn what it ' s like to be trapped in the wrong body because he is . and i also like leo a lot ! and i like how , at least in the dutch version , the different point of views are indicated with different fonts . i really like how this worked out ! a cute , fun read , lovely characters and the book is filled with beautiful touching moments . i highly recommend reading this !
hi ! i ' m cis - gender . i was inspired to write the book following two years working at the gender identity development service . i ' ve had lots of really positive feedback from readers of all gender identities , but particularly from trans teens . hope you give it a try ! ( less )
here ' s an unconventional romantic comedy if there ' s ever been one .
the lovers
begins as a divorce dramedy , < a href =
urltoken
target =
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> debra winger and tracy letts < / a > playing a sedentary married couple who reignite an unlikely spark in the midst of steady affairs . they are lovers , cheating on their lovers by becoming lovers . azazel jacobs ' charismatic flurry & nbsp ; is about the ripening & nbsp ; of middle age and the ambiguities of elapsed time , expressed in small gestures , like whether to share a bottle of wine one evening or retire to separate quarters as usual . & nbsp ; winger and letts bear every complicated crease of a life spent together , wistful for the past and marching toward a farcical fresh chapter .
it ' s been a while since i read this but i feel there ' s two things i should point out that really bothered me about the book . 1 ) leo is a trans guy but him being trans is treated as a plot twist , and is found out when a girl he likes sees his genitalia . not a fan of that . 2 ) kate ( called by her birth name for most of the book ) is referred to by he / him pronouns by leo in his internal monologue after he finds out she ' s a trans girl but only refers to her as ' she ' when she ' s wearing feminine clothin
besides , who wants to be normal anyway ? fancy that on your gravestone . ‘here lies so - and - so . they were entirely normal . ’” a sweet ya - story with a couple of amazing diverse characters , although the story itself could have been better . the strength of this ya - novel is the budding friendship between david and leo . at first sight the boys are each others opposite - leo is reserved and moody and david open and kind – but when david is able to break down some of leo’s walls , they realize how alike
meanwhile , jon must contend with his roommate’s cartoonishly homophobic arsenal of screechy guy - guy friends ( who use words like “donkey douche” almost as frequently as “fag” ) while dealing with his own internal doubts and rages . if rosen is as unimaginative in representing jon’s demons as to at one point stoop to a dingy , out - of - focus vomiting scene — with him dramatically clutching a toilet , natch — there is some respite in his surprising , refreshingly ambiguous non - ending . even if a bit forced ( the conventionality of all that transpired may not naturally lead to such a radical anticlimax ) , the conclusion helps brings some of the film’s themes to the fore , and also shows the difficulty that comes with true self - definition .
two boys . two secrets . david piper has always been an outsider . his parents think he’s gay . the school bully thinks he’s a freak . only his two best friends know the real truth – david wants to be a girl . on the first day at his new school leo denton has one goal – to be invisible . attracting the attention of the most beautiful girl in year eleven is definitely not part of that plan . when leo stands up for david in a fight , an unlikely friendship forms . but things are about to get messy . because at eden park school secrets have a funny habit of not staying secret for long…
this is a coming of age story about a gay boy in a mexican family , taking place in the grape fields and trailer homes in the coachella valley . goyo has a hard time hiding his sexual . . . see full summary »
[ in my opinion , the process of going through a sex change and its physical and emotional effects are never fully explored because david and leo stand at opposite sides of that process . david only makes the first steps by dressing up as kate , and although leo has already gone through a large part of his transition , he never talks about his specialist appointments . this really bugged me because the transition process is such an important part of a transsexual person’s life ( whenever they choose to go through it or not ) , so i was sad that williamson never wrote anything about that . ( hide spoiler ) ]
buzzing comedies such as the spy who dumped me await you in our summer movie guide . check in for all the info you need .
this book is really important . there are so many people out there today struggling with gender identity and the desperate need to be looked at as
normal
because they do not fit into the specific and constricting constructs of society and it is just heartbreaking . before this book , i did not have that much of an insight into transgender struggles . even if this book is purely fiction , it still did open my eyes to some of the struggles in an honest simple prose imbued with complex depths . i real
i couldn ' t finish this , it deals with an incredibly important issue and relevant topic in today ' s society but the book just felt like a generic ya book . i wanted to read this book for the trans character and to see how well the story would deal with the issue but after 110 pages i couldn ' t even really get to the core issue because the writing , dialogue and story were so painfully cliche . the story screams american cliche high school trash that we see in so many media outlets and the book isn ' t even
i don ' t think i ' ve ever been so happy to finish a book . and i don ' t mean that in a bad way , i literally finished the book with the biggest grin on my face , content with the ending and slightly wanting more kate ( david ) and leo . i ' m so glad this book was mainly focused on finding ones true self , as well as true friendship . you know , the type of friendship you ' ll have for life . however , i also have to be open and honest to the slightly problematic aspects of the book too . do i think this represent
the strength of this ya - novel is the budding friendship between david and leo . at first sight the boys are each others opposite - leo is reserved and moody and david open and kind – but when david is able to break down some of leo’s walls , they realize how alike they are . together the boys help each other face problems that are hard to confront , like david’s trans issues or leo’s missing father , which makes their friendship very touching and beautiful to read about .
this book is really important . there are so many people out there today struggling with gender identity and the desperate need to be looked at as
normal
because they do not fit into the specific and constricting constructs of society and it is just heartbreaking . before this book , i did not have that much of an insight into transgender struggles . even if this book is purely fiction , it still did open my eyes to some of the struggles in an honest simple prose imbued with complex depths . i really do not have much to say except that i urge everyone who has not read it yet to read and be educated in any possible way and learn more even after reading in order to understand the struggles of the people going through this . it may not seem real to some of us , but it is for every transgender person out there who is not accepted . the only thing i did not like about the book was that it is written in the present tense because for some reason that i do not know , i just cannot stand books written in the present tense . i made it through though so yassss bihh . so i have to read this for a class and i ' m pretty curious about the book .
i couldn ' t finish this , it deals with an incredibly important issue and relevant topic in today ' s society but the book just felt like a generic ya book . i wanted to read this book for the trans character and to see how well the story would deal with the issue but after 110 pages i couldn ' t even really get to the core issue because the writing , dialogue and story were so painfully cliche . the story screams american cliche high school trash that we see in so many media outlets and the book isn ' t even set in america , it ' s set in england so why are they acting so american ? ! the story was so painfully boring with the typical high school bullies who felt so unrealistic because they used pathetic insults like
freak - show
. the dialogue was depressingly boring and failed in giving the characters any depth or personality , i think the worst thing i read was when one character uses the word ' amazeballs ' . cringe . no one ever says that , it felt like the author was desperately trying to make the story appeal to a younger audience . i looked up what happens in the story and it ' s incredibly predictable so i ' m glad i stopped reading . it ' s such a shame i couldn ' t carry on reading this book when i was so looking forward to it especially due to the trans characters but then the characters have literal no development , the story is depressingly generic and the dialogue is painful .
rosen is unfortunately bland in the lead role , but co - star castillo reveals a highly engaging presence as the tough - talking but vulnerable maddy .
allison williams , while making the rounds for jordan peele’s psychological thriller “ get out , ” has been as tight - lipped about the film’s twists as one might expect . williams plays rose , the white girlfriend of main character chris ( daniel kaluuya ) who invites him home to meet her family , where events take a dark turn .
i ' m a trans person and when i saw this book i was super excited . it had a cool cover and a premise i was personally interested in . however , once i started reading i was honestly very disappointed . i know that trans people have different experiences and points of view on their gender , but so many things about this book seemed off to me . the book isn ' t written by a trans person , and that was my first clue . in the blurb :
two boys .
and
david wants to be a girl .
being trans isn ' t about wanting to be
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it was important to me for jon to be a regular guy , and maybe the slight envy of those who wouldn’t typically go near a film with gay sex , who then in turn , may then be more willing to stay on the ride jon’s character takes .
the director ' s inexperience shows at times . . . but his writing and acting are fine . indeed , everyone in the cast is quite good .
after studying under cinematographer ed lachman , shevaun mizrahi forged her own unique filmmaking path with its own set of rules .
lisa was born in nottingham in 1980 . she spent most of her childhood drawing , daydreaming and making up stories in her head ( but never getting round to writing them down ) . as a teenager she was bitten by the acting bug and at 19 moved to london to study drama at university . following graduation , lisa adopted the stage name of lisa cassidy and spent several happy and chaotic years occasionally gett
this starts off well enough but quickly devolves into meaningless scattered scenes until it abruptly ends in a sort of non ending .
an unseen woman recites shakespeare ' s sonnets - fourteen in all - as a man wordlessly seeks his heart ' s desire . the photography is stop - motion , the music is ethereal , the scenery is often . . . see full summary »
here are all the movies opening today , january 9 . what will you see ?