The Last Circus (limited/VOD)
| release date | August 19 2011 |
| studio | Magnet Releasing |
| director | Álex de la Iglesia |
| writer | Álex de la Iglesia |
| starring | Carolina Bang, Santiago Segura, Antonio de la Torre, Fernando Guillen-Cuervo |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
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Great acting, but horrible script.
Visually stunning, the end is surreal and terrifying. Slow in the middle.
“The Last Circus” left me feeling shocked, bewildered, alienated, disgusted, repulsed, humored, and perhaps even speechless. In all honesty, I don’t know if a few big words can truly describe this mind-boggling hit of cinematic acid; but I’ll try as hard as I can to write a sufficient review for a film that is, by all necessary means, almost too different to critique through the standards of film criticism. There’s a chance that for movies like this one; new rules are in need of inventing.
But wait. Surely this isn’t the first time someone’s gone out of their way to make something so outrageous and strange. Indeed, it isn’t. There’s a special place in cinema reserved for the visionary button pushers; the pretentious filmmakers who aren’t afraid to express their artistic vision and allow it to run completely wild – free of filters, censors, and among other things, the great big sponge known as Hollywood. “The Last Circus” doesn’t quite earn its place among these movies – and it’s director, Alex de la Iglesia, doesn’t quite belong there with the other daring filmmakers of classic cinema – but it has the right to be weird, and weird it is.
The first thing that catches your eye when it comes to the film’s marketing campaign is the picture of an evil-looking clown armed with what appears to be machine guns. And that’s just a taste of what de la Iglesia has in store for us not too far down the road. He sets his film in 1937, when the Spanish Civil War is still taking place, and his focus is set primarily on one very big source of entertainment in those harsh times; circus performers. And in this case, clowns are most important of all.
The protagonist – if there really is one by the end of this twisty, warped story – is Javier (Carlos Areces). He was traumatized by the imprisonment of his father, a circus clown, when he was of a young age. It was then that Javier accepted the fact that his childhood had been taken away from him by the war itself; and it was time to move on. He grows up and finds a job in the family business, as a sad clown. Due to his lack of a real childhood – filled to the top with rainbows and butterflies and fatherly affection – he is deemed incapable of making children laugh. He doesn’t mind his position in the circus, that is until he meets his new boss.
The antagonist is Sergio (Antonio de la Torre). As I said, he is Javier’s employer. And he’s also an abusive tyrant of the physical and verbal variety, a heavy drinker, and when forced into action, quite the determined sadist. Here’s a boss so utterly repulsive that he might not even be permitted entry into the casting calls for “Horrible Bosses”.
Sergio is married to the gorgeous Natalia (Carolina Bang); whom Javier secretly lusts after. Natalia notices this and takes a liking to the sad clown; soon, they are going places together by night, and their romantic bonds gains strength. Sergio, meanwhile, notices this and becomes increasingly pissed. He takes his anger out on Natalia most of the time; and if she isn’t around, anyone else who is gets a beating. Javier can’t stand his employer’s misogyny and abuse; causing him to commit an irreversible act. I shall not say what that act is; although let’s just say it doesn’t end well, and it isn’t particularly pretty either. But then again, in a movie like this, what is?
De la Iglesia has great, radiant visual style; his film is a beautiful festival of colors drenched in ugly, although sometimes discreetly funny violence. Think of the film like a bad car crash; you can’t look away – oh, no. The performances, the direction, and the dark sense of humor are all far too desirable for that; and by the time we’re sucked in, it’s too late to turn back. While “The Last Circus” isn’t what I’d call a fun film – nor is it one that falls under my definition of “entertaining” half of the time – it’s got style, and it’s got grace. So in the words of Tom Jones, I guess that makes it a winner.
Some will love it; some will hate it. There’s no way that I would ever consider this film to be a great one; but there’s an essence about it that I find oddly beautiful. I acknowledge the fact that Iglesia sees himself as a predecessor to surrealistic mastermind Alejandro Jodorowsky; and I acknowledge that as a filmmaker, he lacks the said man’s empathy for his characters and passion for his philosophy. But he’s got something different all-together; something that separates “The Last Circus” from every other film I saw last year. I admire when a filmmaker can treat me to something new and exciting; even if it is on an emotional scale, a mixed bag. So why shouldn’t I greet “The Last Circus” with the praise that it rightfully deserves. Come my friends; join me. This is not one you’re going to want to miss.
Sheer brilliance, best film I had seen in a long time… I definitely need to revisit this piece. If you like your films to be obscure, random, disturbing and original give this one a try. Something for every genre fan to enjoy in The Last Circus… Bravo!
It was like a very bad dream, a nightmare. When I first went into this I only saw the one sheet and I immediately thought this was going to be a serial killer slaughterfest. Boy was I wrong.
This movie was very good. Very twisted and the Aesthetic and feel was very atmospheric and eerie. Even from the beginning where Javier was putting on his makeup and started talking to Sergio, you could just feel the psychotic undertone. You could just feel that someone had their hand on a big red button labeled “This will fuck shit up” and was dying to press it. The main girl was very beautiful and did a very good job in her acting. She played very well as a woman stuck between an abuser and a quiet man just waiting to unleash his rage.
Great concept for a film and I would consider it an artwork of cinema. It is definetly worth seeing on any occasion. The special effects were well done and the cinematography was fantastic. Not necessarily a Horror film but its a psychological hallucination. Great stuff!
ehhh what was this?
The moment I saw the trailer for The Last Circus, I fell in love. The bizarre, yet sublime, imagery, the engaging story, the intense music. The Last Circus looked like a hit! However, when some mediocre reviews came in I lowered my expectation slightly, but after seeing it, I needn’t have bothered! The Last Circus astonished me at how good it was! I was left in amazement at seeing such a strange, beautiful, funny, sad, tragic and gripping gem. The Last Circus deserves to be a cult classic, for it will certainly not be to everyone’s tastes, but it is certainly is to my tastes!
The sublime opening sets the tone for the rest of the film. Children laugh as all the institutional information pops up, and then we realise that they’re laughing at the clowns in the circus. This laughter is suddenly cut rather short however, when an army man comes in (because it’s the civil war) declaring all the circus members to fight! Then some wonderfully weird titles come up with seemingly random images of the Spanish civil war, Universal monsters and other random film clippings including Cannibal Holocaust. Its bizarre and unconventional, which is exactly what this film is! The engaging opening is then finished off with some fantastic imagery of a clown dressed up as a woman, carrying a machete and slicing up the opposition! It’s a fantastic surreal image and one you’re not likely to forget.
After this great back-story has finished, we’re introduced to our hero (or anti-hero). The sad clown. A great shot introduces us to all the weird and wonderful characters and it’s often hilarious. We’ve got an elephant who gets jealous when her owner talks to another woman, we’ve got two old bickering dog trainers and the list goes on. It’s a funny sequence and also a great way to get us introduced to all the characters, all of which are brilliant creations. But obviously the sad clown falls for the beautiful trapeze artist, who belongs to the happy clown. The happy clown is a seriously nasty piece of work. The first time we see him, he’s tossing dwarfs out the door! It’s this rivalry that drives the film forward. However, as the film goes on the line between good and evil begins to blur.
I don’t want to say any more on the story because it would be a shame to spoil it. The great thing about the Last Circus is that it tells a story. It’s a story I loved, and obviously one which the film-makers cared about because it’s told so well. The characters are fantastic, with people you can care about, and others you can’t. You’ll root for the tragic sad clown, who is the only one who has the guts to stand up to the bullying happy clown, but things later take an unpredictable turn. The Last Circus is a love story at heart, and the poor person in-between this bitter feud is the innocent Nathalia, the trapeze artist who you can’t help but feel sorry for as she drives two clowns absolutely wild!
The Last Circus never stops looking amazing. Sometimes it looks more like an art piece than a film, especially when crazy imagery comes into play such as a clown machine-gunning a restaurant! The grand finale is surprisingly cinematic and quite a spectacle to behold. The Last Circus also never forgets its entertainment-value as horror fans are given some gloriously entertaining blood-shed, without it ever forgetting its story and characters at heart. The Last Circus has a big heart, and quite an emotional ending that left me in surprise.
Another great thing about The Last Circus is the pace. The pacing is sometimes break-neck, and the story motors along, trying not to waste a single frame. Sometimes I felt that it moved too quickly, and it would’ve been nice to soak some of it in. I also thought that the sad clown’s descent into madness was too quick and unconvincing, however let’s not forget that we’re watching a film about two warring clowns! The Last Circus is not trying to be normal! The gripping narrative all culminates into an all-action finale that’s pretty intense. The spectacular directing goes up another notch, and the fairytale soon comes to an end we all were hoping to see, and one that’s actually very sad.
The Last Circus was even better than I thought it was going to be. From the trailer, I expected a bit of a mess (a beautiful mess nonetheless) however what I got was a focused story, with fantastic characters, spectacular directing and a tight screenplay. The Last Circus really is amazing to behold and unlike anything I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen Taxidermia!) It’s severely underrated and reminded me of The Prestige with clowns. So if you’re after some surreal imagery, a gripping narrative, some intense directing and characters you can actually care about, then roll up, roll up for The Last Circus! No children allowed!