Strange Circus

... 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

Compared to the previous film, the production values here just scream out at you with its opulence from the opening scene , from its colourful sets and gaudy characters leaping out with a compère introducing some characters and acts in a strange circus indeed. Written and directed by Sion Sono, I have only had one experience with his Noriko's Dinner Table, and had primed myself for yet another tale of the bizarre, and one that touches on his pet subject, the erosion of identity and values in a traditional Japanese family.

This one though, had Sick written all over it, especially with the premise Sion had started off with. We are painted the picture of a perfect, rich household of three, before dad Gozo (Fumie Nakashima) starts to hatch an evil idea of hiding his daughter Mitsuko (Rie Kuwana / Mai Takahashi playing different age groups) in a specially designed cello case with a peephole, which he puts in the master bedroom in order for Mitsuko to learn the art of making love. Needless to say, throw in child sexual abuse, and a mother Sayuri (Masumi Miyazaki in a comeback role) who's just compelled to peep from the same case, and things are just not what they seem.

It gets even sicker through the complication of emotions and standing within the household, where Sayuri gets jealous with the attention that her child is getting from her husband, and a deadly tussle ensued, resulting in a guilt trip which Mitsuko, now assuming fully the role of a wife, starts to look at herself having the physical make up of a fully grown woman, taking the appearance of her mother. If you've made it to this point, that's great, since it's probably nothing more than a severely dysfunctional family being put on screen in an examination of taboo issues like incest.

Then Sion starts to turn things over our heads, with this seemingly one-track narrative being nothing more than the storyline of the paralyzed novelist Taeko (also played by Masumi Miyazaki), which makes one wonder if what we've seen thus far is but a figment of her imagination of yet another potential bestseller, or there's something more than meets the eye especially to her paralysis. Sion then begins to cut forwards and backwards a lot more, resulting in a tale that could go either way, depending on whether you're buying the story in the novel as a fantasy, or rooted in reality. The introduction of Taeko's androgynous assistant Yuji (Issei Ishida) also helped made this particular act stranger than usual, though you're likely to come off with a suspicion that he's got a lot more to do with Taeko than it seemed.

If you're comfortable enough with the inclusion on this act, then the last one that Sion throws at you, in an effort to gel this weird mother-daughter dynamics, will be the litmus test for each individual whether you like the film or not. To me, I thought it was fine, though confusion can arise because now all three arcs start to mash up against one another, and the lines between fantasy and reality will very much depend on which angle you prefer to adopt. I'd go for how sexual abuse will really warp a young, impressionable child's mind, and turn it into a long drawn out tale of mystery and revenge. Sion adds to the confusion through the use of perspectives, having different characters assume roles that we've seen before, and when you try to logically work things out, in comes the scenes of gore and torture for horror classification.

Don't be put off too early by Strange Circus, as there is enough material on hand to warrant multiple viewings just to test out the other hypotheses on who's actually who, and who actually did what. As mentioned, the production values are just great, though some scenes, or the thought of it since they happen off-screen, would make you nausea. Different layers being presented independently, then rolled together into one, makes Strange Circus quite a challenge to sit through, but with a satisfying payoff at the end.

Being as there is only 1 current review (as of November 2006), and a bad one at that, I feel compelled to write something. If you like to have a director mess with you, don't pass this one up. I'm not sure that this tops 2002's Suicide Circle (or Suicide Club) from Sono, but it's up there. I won't go into the plot here, but if you're into psychological thrillers or even more specifically the recent Asian stuff with those lovable twists like Takashi Miike's Audition or Chanwook Park's Oldboy (which I thought was overrated, though still good), this here's for you. Definitely not for those who would be offended by an underage actress involved in explicit scenes. What else? The cinematography in the first half is good too, as there are some nice shots during the horrific atmosphere of the story of Michuko. The 2nd half is all about the *unfolding* so to speak. I definitely need to watch it again.

"Strange Circus" starts out as the story of 12-year-old Mitsuko,who's being sexually abused by her father Gozo and terrorized by her jealous mother Sayuri.Mitsuko is imprisoned in a cello case and forced to watch her parents' intimate liaisons through a peephole.The strange abuse causes Mitsuko to blur the distinction between her mother's pleasure and her own pain.When her mom dies after falling down the stairs,Mitsuko starts believing she is her mother.Sion Sono's return to ero-guro tradition is very stylish and sexually perverse.This strange film even offers lashings of paedophilia on display,fortunately they are not graphic.The carnival atmosphere of circus is well-developed and there is a nice amount of grue.Fans of more dream-like transgressive cinema should give it a look.