The Last Circus (2011)

Crazy indeed is cult director Alex de la Iglesia's 2010 Venice Film Festival winner about two clowns one sad and one happy who enter into a bizarre and memorable love triangle. Set during the brutal Spanish Civil War as well as the end of Franco's regime, the demented parable is like an amalgam of Fellini, Del Toro, Hitchcock with a pinch of Burton and more than a twist of German Expressionism. Often nightmarishly absurd, shocking and irreverent, the visually rich cinematic tapestry defies a singular interpretation and like all great -or even good -art, sticks in the mind long after it is experienced.

"The Last Circus"

(Magnolia Home Entertainment, 2011)

If you have a friend, or girlfriend, who doesn't like clowns and thinks that they're creepy, don't take them to see this film, thinking it'll help cure them. This dark Spanish action/tragicomedy tells the tale of two clowns, one a sociopathic abuser of women (the funny one, who makes kids laugh) and another whose father -also a clown -was killed by Franco's police after the Spanish Civil War. Javier is the sad clown, instructed to avenge his father, but unable to do it and consigned to a life as a nervous nebbish... That is, until he falls in love with the other clown's seductive, masochistic girlfriend, a path that leads to a kaleidoscopic welter of madness and violence. The first half of the film has surreal touches, but is almost a straight tragicomedy -in the second half it leaps over the abyss into blood-soaked absurdism. There is an insane mishmash of stories, with hints of "The Most Dangerous Game," "The Blue Angel," "Phantom Of The Opera," "The Crow," various Hitchcock finales and every evil clown movie ever made. It's fascinating, grotesque and will test the endurance of many a viewer. For the right kind of viewer, it'll be a real thrill.

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Gordon Sullivan, DVD Verdict --After a few opening moments of clowning, a military man shows up to conscript the clowns. Once they're conscripted, director Alex de la Iglesia unleashes an action scene that's equal parts Quentin Tarantino and Federico Fellini. He keeps his happy clown (and the rest of the circus troupe) in circus garb as the conscripted troops fight the fascist rebels. We watch as this clown--armed with a machete--cuts down soldier after soldier before being wounded. It's a carnivalesque version of Saving Private Ryan as directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky, a kind of fever-dream of the fight against fascism. Truth be told, this paragraph will tell you everything you need to know about whether to see The Last Circus. If the idea of Fellini and Tarantino collaborating on a remake of Saving Private Ryan sounds like a good idea to you, then chances are this is for you.

Of course it's not all slow-mo fighting and clowns wielding machetes. The film is also about the legacy of Franco's regime, forbidden love, and the vanishing art of the circus--all that, and a clown-versus-clown showdown. The Last Circus is stuffed to the brim--with violence, with color, and with plot. Yet, it never feels as schizophrenic as it sounds, effortlessly taking the viewer from 1937 to the early 1970s and the growing relationship between Javier and his acrobatic love interest.

All of the various plot points--from the circus to Franco's soldiers--allows de la Iglesia to indulge in his frankly beautiful visual style. The whole film appears to be decaying before our very eyes, with crumbling structures and desaturated colors, while the compositions are framed like paintings. Even if the idea of warring clowns sounds terrible, de la Iglesia has shot his mad tale beautifully.

That beauty is translated perfectly to this Blu-ray release. The 2.35:1 AVC-encoded transfer is stunning. The Last Circus was shot digitally, so this is a digital-to-digital port, and I can't imagine it looking better. Detail is strong throughout, from the patterns in the clown suits to the cracks in their white makeup, while color is perfectly saturated (though not particularly realistic). Black levels remain consistent and deep, and no artifacting shows up to mar the image. The tiniest bit of noise crops up in darker scenes, but that's probably not the fault of this transfer. The audio lives up to the quality of the video with this release. The DTS-HD Spanish language surround track (an English dub with the same specs is available) sounds remarkable. The explosions and action scenes have heft, while the film also makes good use of the soundscape, with good surround activity and left-to-right panning. Dialogue is crisp and clear, primarily out of the center channel.

The extras are not quite as stunning, but give some solid info on how the film works technically. We get a 15-minute making of, and a pair of behind-the-scenes featurettes, followed by some info on the film's (copious) visual effects. Finally, the disc includes the U.S. trailer, its international counterpart, and an international teaser.

-Full review at dvdverdict.com

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The Last Circus is definitely one of the more interesting foreign films to come out recently. It takes two clowns and places them on opposing sides of a woman. While one is supposed to be "happy" and the other "sad", they have much more to their characters than those base states. What plays out is an intense romantic drama that dips into pure insanity before the end.

At its core this is a tale of unrequited love. It just happens to be covered in a thick layer of blood, bullets, and madness. While I personally did not fall in love with the film it's clear to me that many will see it as excellent. The cinematography is great, the characters are well-acted, and the tale is compelling.

If you're looking for a different kind of drama (with clowns) then try this one out. Just be warned: it's brutal.

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When you sit down to watch The Last Circus, you should go in not knowing what to expect. That mindset is your best bet at enjoying this film to the fullest. In fact, I encourage you to jump to the last paragraph of this review and then read the rest after your first viewing. It has quite a reputation going for it; a reputation that is mostly positive. Avoiding trailers and only having a vague knowledge of a movie is so rare these days and with a film like this it just pays off so well. Álex de la Iglesia is a name I wasn't familiar with until now and while The Last Circus did seem to fizzle out a bit near its finale, it's still very absorbing, gloriously disturbing, and a solid effort from Iglesia.

The Last Circus tells a love story that is centered on revenge; it's demented and rather on the gruesome side but love is the central theme along with elements of revenge, horror, and dark comedy. The film's rich visuals will suck you in right away. It has this unique look to it; color seems to be completely drained from the film the majority of the time yet things like blood, makeup, and rather intricate costumes seem to leap off the screen in exquisite color. It's all very surreal and seems to be on the verge of becoming a nightmare at all times, so when it does finally venture into a dream sequence with nightmarish tendencies it's rather extraordinary.

The score is also pretty spectacular. The triumphant music that plays over the opening credits seems to give you the sensation that you're marching toward your death while the pounding keys of the piano during the tunnel sequence practically rattles your bones. It's kind of intriguing how similar Sergio (Antonio de la Torre) and Javier (Carlos Areces) turn out to be and it's all thanks to Natalia (Carolina Bang). Javier is so unsure of himself at first, is kind of pathetic, and a complete coward at his core but that changes once he meets Natalia. Sergio is short-tempered, an alcoholic, and his violent outbursts usually cause one or more to end up in the hospital when things don't go his way. Sergio's story becomes really interesting since it seems to borrow heavily from both The Phantom of the Opera and Frankenstein. Natalia on the other hand just doesn't seem to know what she wants. She loves the way Sergio makes love to her, but feels safe with Javier. She's truly torn between the two monsters she inadvertently creats.

Keep an eye out for a trumpet and an iron as they both become nearly as iconic as the hammer was in Oldboy. The Last Circus has a way of putting its viewer on edge with a sense of discomfort and uneasiness never being far away. The restaurant scene is a prime example, which also shows how messed up Sergio really is and eventually leads to one of the most awkward and off-putting sex scenes in recent memory. Some of the computer generated effects got a little overboard in the latter half and seemed to slightly sour my opinion of the film. However after watching the special features, it's truly amazing how much of the film was created with digital effects.

The Last Circus is like a one-sided coin featuring tragedy on both sides and the final scene seems to illustrate this point perfectly. Its surreal visuals make the film a real treat to look at and the haunting score is both memorable and beautiful in a sinister kind of way. With its nearly seamless use of practical and computer generated effects and the way the entire film seems to be covered in a veil of unpredictability, The Last Circus is a unique vision into circus life that's mostly calamitous yet visually stimulating.

Special features are pretty slim, but still interesting. Making of The Last Circus is a fifteen minute featurette that takes you behind the scenes of the film. It's here that you begin to realize how much of the film was filmed in front of the green screen as the cast comments on what it's like to work with Álex de la Iglesia. Behind the Scenes Segments is more of the same type of footage presented as a seven and a half minute montage. Visual Effects is really cool. It's ten minutes long and compares the final version of the film to what was shot in front of the green screen. It literally takes you through step by step of the digital effects. It also informs you that there were 47 digital artists and post-production took two months. The U.S. Trailer, International Trailer, and International Teaser round out the special features.

The film looks completely stunning in 1080P High Definition presented in a 16x9 (2.35:1) aspect ratio and sounds fantastic in its Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.

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