Kimyô na sâkasu

... if you like this movie. Neither is the director ... at least I don't think he is. If you watch this movie you might ask yourself these questions, because this is not your usual fair, it is extreme and out there.

I don't even know what to make of it. But I do know, that even though I was disgusted at times, I also was amazed by this movie. Which says much about the craft of the director on work here, who will take you on an emotional journey.

This journey will not be an easy one and you probably won't enjoy it (in fact, you are supposed not to enjoy it). And although you know you watch bad things (even with children involved in them, but never explicitly shown), you get the feeling that this movie is great. Not for the faint of heart then, but definitely for people who are open to challenges!

I knew absolutely nothing going into this flick. I was recommended this movie by a friend who has some unique tastes in movies. I tend to enjoy everything he likes, so I decided to blind buy this and give it a shot. What followed was a movie that's bizarre, extreme, and kind of confusing.

Strange Circus starts out as a story about a quiet young girl named Mitsuko. One day she hears some strange noise coming from her parents room. Curiosity gets the better of her and she witnesses them having sex. Her Dad catches her in the act and from that moment this movie gets really crazy. I'd rather not tell you what follows, but it's definitely not for the average movie-goer. At some points Strange Circus gets pretty confusing, you are led to question who's who and what's happening. By the end of the movie many things have risen to the surface, but there are still aspects to ponder about. Which is rare these days, there aren't many movies when the credits are almost done rolling and you're still sitting there thinking about what just happened. Personally I appreciate when movies do this. It's not frustratingly challenging, but it definitely will keep you up a little longer.

Strange Circus was extremely well acted, well directed (same director as Suicide Club) and well told. It's also sick, perverted and down right screwy. If you're into extreme movies, Japanese movies, challenging movies, or just looking for something different, give this baby a shot. 8.5 outta 10

This is the first of its kind (I'm sure there are more like this movie out there) that I've seen, so I don't consider my vote fair.

During the movie, I had mixed feelings of: this is disgusting, this is a masterpiece, this is amazing, this is horrendous.

Right after watching the movie, I definitely thought, "What did I just spend my 2 hours watching?"

However, I believe this is an amazing film. Even though it's disturbing, the story is great, the film is excellently shot - the film IS motivated to tell that story, however weird it may be.

I recommend this movie, especially if you're looking for something new, something to think about; if you're studying film or if you're just bored. :)

My last comment is: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and I recommend it to others.

When i saw Suicide Club for the first time i knew Sion Sono would come to be a director i would look out for, and with Strange Circus he delivers, that's not to say that you will automatically like this one if you loved suicide club, because this is is something different.

If suicide club was his pitch black pulpy look at Japanese culture, this is his nightmarish avant garde look on a dysfunctional family. This is art-house the way it should be, confrontational, engaging and intelligent.

This is at some points extremely unwatchable as it deals with themes such as incest, but the way it is portrayed is absolutely stylish but still jaw droppingly tense.

It reminded me of David Lynch and Alejandro Jorodowsky because of the dreamlike sequences and the constant pondering on what is real and what isn't.

This movie is shot beautifully, even Kubrick came to mind at some scenes. Without spoiling anything i can say that this movie is very open to interpretation and it works and many levels.

I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes deeply psychological drama, horror and art-house combined), but a warning, this is not for the faint of heart and i can really understand why people would condemn this film as perverted trash (such as people will condemn Lars Von Triers Antichrist), although i genuinely think that anyone with a love for cinema would grasp the deeper things this movie has to offer and will enjoy the beauty in this nightmarish vision.

This is a very fine and brave film but so extreme and at times confusing that it lost me at times. I see the film has won awards in Montreal and Berlin but I can safely say that it could not even be shown legally in the UK. Even apart from the extended sequences of implied and actual child sex abuse the degree of violence, especially when shown in a sexual context would have the jolly BBFC boys in somewhat of a lather. With all the effort put in by the director and leading actress, Masumi Miyazaki, who is sensational in her roles, it is a shame that the resulting film is not more coherent. Possibly it is because the material is so extreme that I tended to distance myself a little and thereby lose the plot a little, but only a second viewing will settle that one and I'm not up to that right now!