Update: Trailer for Shion Sono's STRANGE CIRCUS (KIMYÔ NA SÂKASU), starring Masumi Miyazaki, Issei

The official website for Shion Sono's Strange Circus (Kimyô na sâkasu) is now functional, and there's a trailer for the movie on that site (see the bottom of this article).

As was previously reported here and there on ScreenAnarchy, Strange Circus stars Masumi Miyazaki, Issei Ishida, Rie Kuwana, Mai Takahashi, Fujiko, Tomorowo Taguchi, and Hiroshi Ôguchi.

Strange Circus premièred at the 10th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) on October 9th, and was screened at the Tokyo International Fantastic Film Festival 2005 (Tôkyô Kokusai Fantasutikku Eigasai 2005) - "Tokyo Fanta 2005" for short - on October 14th.

Here's a synopsis for Strange Circus that previously was on the page for the movie on the PIFF website: "Wheelchair-bound Taeko is a successful erotic novelist who lives in a luxurious apartment served by several young editors and assistants. She is writing a lurid tale of an incestuous and abusive love triangle (father, mother and daughter). A new young editor, Yuji, starts to investigate her and discovers that Taeko is only pretending to be disabled. What is she hiding?"

Here's So-won Kang's review of Strange Circus, which has replaced the synopsis above on the page for the movie on the PIFF website [WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS]: "Michuko is the twelve-year-old only child of a principal father and a beautiful mother. She believes that she was born at guillotine for no reason. After watching her parents having sex, she is raped by her father, and she becomes her father's woman when her envious mother passes away. Absurdities such as incest, accidental murder, a suicide attempt, and group sex are part of Taeko's porn novel. The real story begins after this. [Strange Circus] is, in short, a story of vengeance. Writer Taeko seems to be a pervert, but when her family history is revealed through her young assistant, Yuji, it's clearly a nightmare. Although the latter half of the film tries to make sense out of the earlier absurdities, it doesn't mean that it is easily accepted as sensible. The incest plot unfolds with violent images of a transgender with her breast cut-off, an electric saw instead of a guillotine, and dismemberments. Such insanity is mixed with the novel, dreams, illusions and reality. The entire movie is made up of twists, leading to the revelation of the trauma on the victim of sexual assault. [Strange Circus] returns to complete reality from fantasy when it is revealed that the assailant had been denying any wrongdoing, and has established and lived in the identity of the victim. The uncomfortable story was a device to disclose the family filth most effectively."

Strange Circus large trailer (streaming, Windows Media)

Strange Circus small trailer (streaming, Windows Media)
Strange Circus official website
PIFF: Strange Circus (w/ slide show)
Tokyo Fanta: Strange Circus