THE LAST CIRCUS

It’s strange, but I’ve just realized that three out of the last four films that I have seen have had to do with the circus or carnivals.  The latest is Alex de la Iglesia’s new film “The Last Circus (Balada triste de trompeta)”.  Although I am a massive fan of de la Iglesia’s work, I have to admit that his output can be a little hit or miss.  When he is totally on his game, he can make truly spectacular films that are right up there with the best of De Palma (like the films “La Communidad”, “The Baby’s Room” and “The Ferpect Crime”), but he can also go the other way and make some less impressive features that I suppose non-fans of the director would call “duds” (like “800 Bullets” and “The Oxford Murders”).  He is a very visual director (hence the De Palma reference previous),  so his films are never dull to watch and the content within them is usually so bizarre that you are never sure exactly what you are going to get or what will happen next (which is always a good thing).  That defines “The Last Circus” perfectly because I’m sure when the film starts that no-one at all could predict exactly where this film goes and how it is going to end.  It is insane.

The film begins with a prologue that is set in 1937 where we are witness to a performance by two clowns, one happy and one sad, to a bunch of young kids.  The show is soon interrupted by revolutionary forces who, desperate for troops, begin forcing people to draft in their cause and fight in their war.  When the sad clown refuses (and ultimately pays for this refusal), the happy clown reluctantly agrees and is immediately sent off to war, leaving behind his young son, Javier, who was sitting in the crowd.  He is thrust straight into the thick of the battle, and let me just say, the image of a machete branding clown (in a dress, no less) laying waste to the enemy’s regime in brutal and violent manners, is one of the strangest you are likely to see, but it gives you an indication of the kind of film that you have wondered into.

Ten years later after the war has ended, Javier visits his father, who is still imprisoned for his part in the war, to tell him that he has decided to continue in the family tradition and become a clown – a “happy” one.  His father disagrees with him and explains that because of the tragedy of this war he has missed out on a childhood, and he is far more suited to the role of the “sad” clown, as he doesn’t have the ability to make people laugh.  We then flash-forward to 1973 where Javier has just joined a circus playing the “sad” clown to Sergio’s “happy” clown, who also happens to be the circus’s main attraction.  While being shown around the circus, Javier lays eyes on the beautiful Natalia, who is the troupe’s acrobat.  He is immediately spellbound by her, but she also happens to be the girlfriend of his clown rival, Sergio.  Right from the get-go it is obvious that Sergio is a dangerous and violent man, and this is never more evident than when Javier is invited to a dinner with the rest of the circus troupe.  Throughout the whole night Sergio is the centre of attention, and demands that attention, but the night goes sour when Javier is the only one not to laugh at one of Sergio’s jokes (due to the fact that it is in incredibly poor taste).  Sergio is outraged that someone hasn’t laughed at his joke (because he is a clown “and he knows what is funny!!”) and when Natalia tries to calm him down, he explodes into a rage of violence against her, beating her unconscious in front of everyone.  The only person who tries to do anything to help is Javier, which sets the tone for the rivalry between these two clowns for the love of Natalia, which continues and escalates through to the end of the film.  The twists and turns that the film takes until it reaches this finale are truly insane and trust me, you will never know where this thing is going.

Critically “The Last Circus” started its life very positively when it was awarded “Best Screenplay” and the “Silver Lion” (Best Director) award at the 2010 Venice Film Festival.  However since then, the critical reaction has been mixed.  Fans of de la Iglesia seem to really enjoy the film, while others have denounced it as utter trash.  Personally, I think the film, when it is at its best, is very good indeed, but it does straddle a line into the absurd which it occasionally even falls into.  “The Last Circus” is the first film by de la Iglesia that has not been co-written with his regular writing partner, Jorge Guerricaechevarría, and I think this shows in the film’s lack of cohesion at times.  It just doesn’t feel as tightly put together as his previous films.  For the first hour of its running time, I believe that it is spot on, but it hits a certain point in the film (when our hero is re-coupérating in a cave) where it starts to lose its way a bit.  It continues to get more absurd and ridiculous as it builds to the end, and it gets harder and harder to suspend your disbelief in the actions happening on screen, which ultimately makes the second half of the film not seem as tight or as well put together as the beginning.  However I will say that this is due to ambition, because what de la Iglesia is doing with “The Last Circus” is making an allegory to Franco-era Spain with Natalia standing in for Spain, Sergio, the fascists and Javier representing the common folk.  By this we can determine that de la Iglesia believes that Spain during that time was complicit to the abuse being forced upon it, and even got a strange pleasure from it (and formed its identity from it).  The other thing he seems to be saying is that if you spend enough time fighting these monsters (fascists), you ultimately become one yourself.  As I mentioned, I am not sure that he gets these ideas across as well as he could have, but the ambition to do so shouldn’t be looked at as a negative.

As usual for a de la Iglesia film it is visually stunning, but it is largely without the long complicated shots that he often puts into his films.  Some of the images in “The Last Circus” are those that you would have likely never seen in a film before (and probably again), like the transformation scene when Javier turns himself into a clown “permanently”.  It is crazy (and a more than a little disturbing).  The world of the circus gives de la Iglesia ample opportunities to show-off visually and he does not disappoint, with one exception.  Unfortunately he falls into the trap of over-using CGI in the finale of “The Last Circus”, to the point that it takes you out of the film as you no longer believe what it happening on screen, because the computer images are of such poor quality that it never looks real.  Being someone who is so obsessed with visuals it is actually a bit of a shock to see this in a de la Iglesia film.

In regards to performances in the film, they are all well done, with the two boys really standing out: Carlos Areces as the permanently sad clown, and Antonio de la Torre as the evil Sergio.  Originally I was going to write that de la Torre was the highlight of the film, but in terms of characters arc and what he ultimately turns into, the role of Javier is the harder of the two and Areces really pulls off both spectrums to his character.  We ultimately care for this character who we could have easily disliked if put in the wrong hands, because let’s face it, Javier is a bit of a whiner.  Carolina Bang as Natalia is a little one-note but her performance is never bad, plus she is stunningly gorgeous to look at, which in this role is a huge positive.

Overall Alex de la Iglesia, a director who you would never call subtle and who often likes to let his films tip into the realm of excess, has created a baroque and entertaining film with “The Last Circus”.  It is like a mixture of grand guignol and opera, it is always violent and grotesque, but within all of this it is also an allegory to Franco-era Spain.  I cannot finish this review without mentioning its brilliant title sequence, it is simply outstanding and sets you in the mood for the next two hours.  Understand that the film is not for everyone’s taste, but if you are a fan of de la Iglesia’s previous work, I’m sure that you will find his latest film very worthwhile.

3.5 Stars.

I just want to note that Alex de la Iglesia has already finished filming his next film, “La Chispa de La Vida” (which stars Salma Hayek), which may premiere at this year’s Venice Film Fesival.  Again Jorge Guerricaechevarría is not involved in the screenwriting (I hope they have not had a falling out), but for the first time, neither is de la Iglesia.  The script is by the screenwriter of “Tango and Cash” and is apparently a “dramedy”.  Not sure about this one, but any film directed by de la Iglesia is one that I will look forward to.