Strange Circus

D+

Directed by Sion Sono

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Fantasia two years ago, I was frankly expecting alot more from Sion Sono's "Strange Circus." Although the jury at Fantasia often praises films I dont particularly enjoy, they also more often than not get it right which is why I was surprised that they warded this rather unpleasant and dark offering with thier highest degree of praise.

"Strange Circus" follows young Mitsuko who is abused by her father, than by her jealous mother, ends up in a wheelchair, and generally leads a fairly hellish life. We learn, however, that Mitsuko's agony and hardships may only be the fruit of novelist Takeo's fertile imagination. As the film progresses, however, we are led to believe that Takeo may have a closer relationship to her novel's protagonist than we may have originally believed.

"Strange Circus" is a pretty unpleasant trip, but being unpleasant is not in and of itself always a bad thing for a film to be. Indeed, a number of really good films are very unpleasant (All About Lily Chou Chou comes immediately to mind). The problem with "Strange Circus" is that is it unpleasant and shocking solely for the sake of being so with no real motive behind it. Unlike films such as the the aforementioned Lily Chou Chou or Miike's "Audition" where extreme and brutal violence of general misanthropy were used to both move the story along and make some type of social commentary, "Strange Circus" simply shocks because it can. It's almost as if Sono tried to cram every single taboo or unpleasant subject into a single film, throw it out there to the masses, and see what came back. Judging by "Strange Circus'" Grand Jury Prize at Fantasia, it obviously struck a chord with a number of viewers but I can't honestly say I understand what they see in this film. Although Sono has loads of talent and produces some beautiful (if fleeting) images that almost come as a relief after being subjected to so much ugliness, the point of this film appears simply to shock are rather titilate. Furthermore, whereas "Suicide Club," Sono's best knwon work, employs violence rather liberally, it also features a tight, layered, and surprisingly cerebral plot that requires a great deal of mulling over before the viewer finally "gets it." Not so with "Strange Circus," where the plot is neither intellecutally rewarding nor very well put together. Indeed, Sono lazily tosses in some flashbacks here and there to infuse some faux-suspense in his film but by the end of it, the whole exercise comes off as incoherent, poorly edited, and generally lacking any type of cohesiveness.
I will say that lead actress Masumi Miyazaki deserves some credit for her performance as Mitsuko/Sayuri/Takeo. Her work is excellent and eschews the often charicaturistic acting of many Japanese leading ladies.