Noriko´s Dinner Table

Colour, 35 mm
Japan, 2005, 158 min
WP – World premiere
Section: Official Selection - Competition
Oficiální stránky: www.sonosion.com

Synopsis

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.

About the director

Sion Sono (b. 1961, Japan), a native of Toyokawa, was originally a poet in the 1970s before turning to filmmaking. He began shooting 8mm movies after enrolling at Housei University. In 1985 his 30-minute short Ore wa Sono Sion da!! was screened in competition at the prestigious Pia Film Festival, and two years later he won the Main Prize there for Otoko no hanamichi. With the grant he received with the award, Sono made the 1990 feature Bicycle Sighs, screened at more than 30 festivals in Europe and Asia. Sono’s 1992 film The Room (Heya) was an even greater success. His trademark controversial style is evident as well in Tokyo GAGAGA, a project combining experimental and public performance. The multifaceted filmmaker (he is alsoa director of gay porn) captivated fans with his latest films Hazard, In a Dream and, above all, Suicide Club (2002), his greatest commercial success to date.