A family portrait from contemporary Japan about the generational rebellion of otherwise obedient daughters - since Nagisa Oshima started making movies, it seems that a strong generational conflict slumbers under the surface of Japanese society, a conflict which is the prime mover behind Sono's plot as well. In the movie, which oscillates between psychothriller and Bildungsfilm, sisters Noriko and Yuka share an adolescent distaste for their father, for his rituals and values. Not even their mother's love can protect them from ending up under the sway of a sect. The older Noriko is the first to leave her parents' house. She meets a young woman named Kumiko in a chat room and soon takes off for Tokyo to visit her. The younger Yuka follows within a few months. With Kumiko they undergo complete transformation - they have new names and new lives, but they're not the only ones. Their father is determined to get them back but he comes up against a conspiracy that proves difficult to penetrate.

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  Fukiishi Kazue (Shimabara Noriko)

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  Mitsuishi Ken (Shimabara Tetsuzo)

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  Yoshitaka Yuriko (Shimabara Yuka)

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  Namiki Shiro (Unknown)

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  Tezuka Toru (Unknown)

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• Mar 12, 2012 1 of 1 episodes seen

  Szasha
  3 of 3 people found this review helpful
  Other reviews by this user
  • Overall  8
  • Story  9
  • Acting/Cast  9
  • Music  7
  • Rewatch Value  9

  Side note: Noriko’s Dinner Table is a sequel to the movie “Suicide Club”, therefore it’s recommendable to watch latter first.
  
  Noriko’s Dinner Table, opposed to its predecessor, is no horror movie, but a thriller. Its complex and witty story is unraveled slowly throughout the movie by having several people delineate their perspectives and contribute to a giant jigsaw.
  
  Generally Noriko’s Dinner Table manages to reinvent itself multiple times and lets new questions arise while resolving past subjects.
  
  Phenomena of today’s society, such as human coldness and sense of self, are being explicitly, sometimes indirectly, addressed. “Who are we?” “How do we behave towards other people?”
  
  The actors are well chosen and substantiate a harmonious picture; their performances are convincing and earnest to the degree that it’s possible to sympathise.
  The music is befitting, but not memorable.
  
  Noriko’s Dinner Table has a high rewatch value, due to the way it’s being told, its complexity and occasional absurdness. (I stopped frequently, scribbled some notes and watched again.)
  
  In case you are looking for a cleverly told, thought-provoking, engaging movie, which keeps you entertained- – it’s a movie definitely worth checking out. Nevertheless let me warn you: It does not fail to establish creepiness equivalent to “Suicide Club”. read more

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  Confessions

  They both explore extreme, yet plausible, situations spawning from deficiencies in social relationships through the lens of youth. As I remember them, Confessions has less gore than Noriko\'s Dinner Table, but is still not for the faint of heart. Confessions may be just a tiny bit more cerebral.

  reportRecommended by Kawaikochan
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  Suicide Club

  Suicide Club and Noriko’s Dinner Table – to fully appreciate them and understand the story you’ve got to watch them both.

  reportRecommended by Szasha