Update on Shion Sono's NORIKO'S DINNER TABLE (NORIKO NO SHOKUTAKU), starring Kazue Fukiishi, Tsugumi

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The official website for Shion Sono's Noriko's Dinner Table (Noriko no shokutaku) - a quasi-sequel to his Suicide Circle (Jisatsu sâkuru), a.k.a. "Suicide Club" - is now online, although at present it's little more than a home page. As was previously reported here on ScreenAnarchy, there's a downloadable English-subtitled trailer for the movie on the website of international sales agent Eleven Arts Inc.. The movie had its world première at the 40th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) in the Czech Republic on July 4th of last year. Argo Pictures K.K. (Arugo Pikuchâzu K.K.) plans to release it theatrically in Japan in September.

The screenplay for Noriko's Dinner Table was written by Sono. The movie apparently stars Kazue Fukiishi as Noriko Shimabara, Tsugumi as Kumiko (a.k.a. Ueno54), Ken Mitsuishi as Tetsuzô Shimabara, and Yuriko Yoshitaka as Yuka Shimabara.

Here's a synopsis for Noriko's Dinner Table from Eleven Arts' website: "Noriko Shimabara is an ordinary 17 year-old girl. Her family consists of her younger sister Yuka, father Tetsuzou, and mother Taeko. Noriko couldn't help but feel unsatisfied with her ordinary suburban town life. One day, she discovers an interesting website on the internet where teenage girls from all over Japan gather. There, Noriko for the first time in her life feels that she is being understood by others. Noriko runs away from home to seek a new home in Tokyo. Arriving in Tokyo, she meets Kumiko, who is the cent[ral] figure behind the website. ¶ Along with Kumiko, Noriko becomes a member of a strange business called Family Circle, which offers a rental family service. At Family Circle, members are dispatched to people with no family members to create an instant pseudo-family. Noriko finds the true beauty of family while role-playing in a pseudo-family, and through that pseudo-family, she begins understanding more about the relationship between herself and her family, as well as her relationship with herself. ¶ Following her sister, Yuka also runs to Tokyo. Their father Tetsuzou then begins searching for his two missing daughters. After long searches, he finds out that his daughters are members of Family Circle."

Sono's other directing credits include the story "Otona ni nattara" in the omnibus movie No-Pants Girls - Movie Box-ing2 (Nô-pantsu gâruzu - Movie Box-ing2), Hazard - a.k.a. "Hazâdo" - Strange Circus (Kimyô na sâkasu), Into a Dream (Yume no naka e), and Suicide Circle (Jisatsu sâkuru) - a.k.a. "Suicide Club".

Noriko's Dinner Table trailer (English subtitled; downloadable 4.4 MB MOV file)
Noriko's Dinner Table official website
Eleven Arts: Noriko's Dinner Table
No-Pants Girls - Movie Box-ing2 trailer (downloadable 7.9 MB WMV file)
No-Pants Girls - Movie Box-ing2 official subsite
Hazard trailer (in English; downloadable 2.8 MB MOV file)
Hazard official website
Eleven Arts: Hazard
Strange Circus trailer (downloadable 14.4 MB WMV file)
Into a Dream trailer (streaming Windows Media)
Into a Dream trailer (downloadable 5.4 MB ASF file)

Into a Dream official subsite
GOMORRAHY.com: Trailer Park subsite