[psycho d]

Noriko's Dinner Table (2005). What Shion Sono has created here is a type of horror flick whose monster is found in the details of a society that is undergoing a massive cultural shift, its victims adult and child alike. The philosophic endeavors examined include existential reality as it exists and pits it against a reality that is being created and virtually lived by the Japanese by way of personas. Are we how we act or is our verite deeper than that? Life almost seems less true when we live a perfunctory life based on so-called truths than were we to openly prevaricate to ourselves and those around us in regards to our feelings and intentions. Maybe this is this film centers on the ultimate form of existentialism, where unfolding events creates reality, and not the individuals involved and their attempts at persuasion. It is almost as if we are asked to hold true the paradoxes of life as if they were the best of friends, individuals that are polar by nature and yet complimentary in effect. Noriko's Diner Table takes its sweet time achieving such a conundrum, and it does so in a fashion that rarely works. Driven by inner dialog, the story takes place in chapters in order to achieve such a deep level of character development. At times it almost feels more like a book than a movie, which might account for its ability to impart its profound message. At 159 minutes, no time is used with gratuity, each and every scene adds a new piece to the puzzle, and even though some new additions only add more confusion, they each and all work toward the film's denouement. The story itself is quite original, which speaks volumes in a world replete with the same old story being retold in a fresh fashion. The symbolism used here is deep, and though much must have been lost in translation to those whose tongues are not of the Japanese persuasion, much reward is still gifted the non-native audience. The imagery and the camera work were phenomenal, employing techniques that obscures or washes out our players, disconnecting us from them much like their own inner sense of disconnection. Shion Sono has created a masterpiece that deserves more than my limited viewpoint, and that is probably for the better. This film seems a better match for individuals that want to create their own impression as opposed to having predigested notions fed to them. The final climax, a long, complex and emotional shot, was pure cinematic significance. The whole discombobulated enchilada comes together, and sets the score for an ending that is more a journey's beginning than its completion. Merci beaucoup.
d