Suffering from depression, a man creates a tour ride called the Sunshine Club tours, where he has an open invitation to all willing volunteers. This tour isn't like any other as their final destination is death, and driving off a cliff is the last stop, and each and every passenger is fully aware. Except for one; a girl who's given a ticket from her Uncle who was initially a passenger. They let the giggly student on to join the suicidal group of men, and set out on the road.Suicide Bus was a surprisingly good flick as it mixed drama and comedy very well. There are many scenes of the passengers getting to know one another via arguing, questioning one another, playing games etc. And it's all done with a nice touch of black comedy. For example, one passenger is raring to go early on in the movie, at a visit to a snake show, he rolls up his sleeves so he can be bit by a cobra, only to be smacked in the head in comedic style by the bus tour leader. The film also packs an emotional punch, but not as much as I was hoping for. As the tour bus weaves through the Japanese country-side so does the story, and you're led through an ever-developing story that will have you second guessing up until the very end.

this movie was nothing less than a roller coaster ride. since the beginning the audience is introduced to the situation and the macabre desire for whats-his-name to collect the insurance money. the rest of the extravagantly plotted movie is mitsuki slowly but surely making discoveries about the passengers. as an American there were several times in which i was completely confused as to what it was that was funny about a group of people wanting to kill themselves and many other obvious jokes along the way that left me feeling like a fifth wheel or as if these were inside jokes. (which if you think about it they are, you almost have to be Japanese to understand them i suppose). but not all of them. there are some really hysterical screwball comedy as in when they are at the traditional dinner and they all one by one get up on the stage and present their own special talents or lack thereof. perhaps to show the incompetence of these people to be successes in the real world and therefore showing what was the cause of their downfall? the ending was absolute masterpiece. they begin to play a word game to try and calm down a passenger who has overdosed on a tranquilizer or something thereof and commenced to have a seizure. through the game, the audience and all the passengers are illuminated to the fact that the "tour-guide" is actually pregnant. maybe the reason why she wants to kill herself: she sees herself unfit to be a mother or perhaps she cant afford a baby? anyway the banterings from mitsuki toward the passenger's consciences (i think thats how you spell it) finally hit a nerve with the announcement of the childbearing and the driver decides to abort the mission just in the nick of time as the bus hits the railing on the side of the road. all are saved but whats-his-name decides to get off and kill himself. however, mitsuki gives him an origami crane. the moment is tense as the tour bus leaves him behind and the camera makes it seem as though nadaka or whatever his name is has has harakiri-ed himself. then the news announce that the bus was in a collision with a eighteen wheeler and everyone aboard. then at the same time. it is shown that nadaka has not killed himself but rather he threw the crane down in exasperation to deciding not to kill himself. the audience is torn between exhilaration of nadaka keeping his life, grief of the other passengers dying (especially the innocent mitsuki), and the guiltily funny irony that the passengers died anyway and nadaka was the one to live. all in all this movie was truly amazing and it is just a darn shame that movies of this kind aren't made in Hollywood. although i don't think they can since suicide is seen differently in the American culture. on another note **i apologize for the length of my user comment**

This is a most unusual Japanese film, showing a new side of serious Japanese cinema--treatment of black comedy.What is more unusual is that it deals with suicide--no laughing matter for the Japanese. Hara-kiri is almost revered.And here is a first film from a young director that tackles this "deadly" subject with wit. Hiroshi Shimuzi has guts and talent, which I wrote about in January 1999, while reviewing the film (for India Abroad, New York) shown at the Indian International Film Festival at Hyderabad. I was pleased that it got recognized at other film festivals as well--including Locarno.It reminded me of Cuban filmmaker Tomas Alea's black comedy "Death of a bureaucrat" made so many years ago.I wonder how the Japanese reacted to the film.

This film made me "laugh out loud" and also quite sad and introspective too. Equal amounts of both as the journey progressed, both of the audience with the characters, as well as the characters towards their planned accident. There were a few scenes which I wasn't sure came across to the western perspective on a cultural front (mainly the tin can episodes). But the rest was quite wonderful with good characterisation. Well worth seeing!