The Last Circus (2010)
"Balada triste de trompeta" (original title)

A young trapeze artist must decide between her lust for Sergio, the Happy Clown, or her affection for Javier, the Sad Clown, both of whom are deeply disturbed.

Director:

Álex de la Iglesia

Writer:

Álex de la Iglesia

Stars:

Carlos Areces, Antonio de la Torre, Carolina Bang

8 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Carlos Areces	...	Javier
Antonio de la Torre	...	Sergio
Carolina Bang	...	Natalia
Manuel Tallafé	...	Ramiro
Alejandro Tejerías	...	Motorista-fantasma (as Alejandro Tejería)
Manuel Tejada	...	Jefe de pista
Enrique Villén	...	Andrés
Gracia Olayo	...	Sonsoles
Sancho Gracia	...	Coronel Salcedo
Paco Sagarzazu	...	Anselmo
Santiago Segura	...	Padre-Payaso tonto
Fernando Guillén Cuervo	...	Capitán miliciano
Jorge Clemente	...	Javier (Joven 1943)
Fofito	...	Payaso listo
Sasha Di Bendetto	...	Javier (Niño 1937) (as Sasha Di Bendetto)

Storyline

1937, Spain is in the midst of the brutal Spanish Civil War. A "Happy" circus clown is interrupted mid-performance and forcibly recruited by a militia. Still in his costume, he is handed a machete and led into battle against National soldiers, where he single handedly massacres an entire platoon. Fast forward to 1973, the tail end of the Franco regime. Javier, the son of the clown, dreams of following in his father's career footsteps, but has seen too much tragedy in his life-he's simply not funny and is only equipped to play the role of the Sad Clown. He finds work in a circus where he befriends an outlandish cast of characters, but as the Sad Clown he must take the abuse of the brutish Happy Clown Sergio, who humiliates Javier daily in the name of entertainment. It is here that he meets Natalia, a gorgeous acrobat, and abused wife of Sergio. Javier falls deeply in love with Natalia and tries to rescue her from her cruel and violent husband, unleashing Sergio's jealousy. But Natalia ...

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Plot Keywords:

clown | sad clown | circus | acrobat | spain | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brutal and bloody violence throughout, some strong sexual content, nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Blog [es] Official Facebook

Country:

Spain France

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

17 December 2010 (Spain)

Also Known As:

The Last Circus

Filming Locations:

Alcoy, Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

€7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$4,757 (USA) (19 August 2011)

Gross:

$40,029 (USA) (4 November 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tornasol Films, La Fabrique 2, uFilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A still of Cannibal Holocaust appears in opening credits. Luis Varela, who plays Manuel in this film, dubbed 'Carl Gabriel Yorke' in Cannibal Holocaust in Spanish.

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Goofs

When Andres is arrested, he says "maderos" to the policemen, but this word was not yet used at this time. He shoould have said "grises" (grey) because this is the color of the police uniform - only years later would it become brown. ("Madero" is log or piece of wood, which is why people called policemen "maderos").

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Connections

References One Million Years B.C. (1966)

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Soundtracks

"Balada de la trompeta (Ballata della Tromba)"
Written by Franco Pisano
Performed by Raphael

User Reviews

Laugh Clown Kill

Laugh clown kill

A sad clown falls in love with a starlet – and challenges her misogynistic lover in post-war Spain.

The logline above is far too simplistic for this multi-genre and multi-thematic film. Written and directed by Álex de la Iglesia, best known in the US for his 2008 feature THE OXFORD MURDERS, brings us a monster mix of mayhem that spans from the Spanish Civil War to 1973. Sort of like Tim Burton on a lot more acid.

Soft-spoken Javier (Carlos Areces) survives the war to become a sad clown in a low budget circus. In the show, he plays second banana to Sergio (Antonio de la Torre), the happy clown who is ultra-hostile off stage and keeps the other performers walking on edge due to sudden tirades and extreme violence. His lover is the lithe Natalia (Carolina Bang) torn between Sergio's rage and the safety of Javier. Okay, that sounds like straightforward romance plot number one – but it doesn't come close. This tale engages war, politics, drama, comedy, horror and romance while exploring themes regarding obsession, response to trauma, politically induced Frankensteinian creations, and the failure of dreams within a fascist state. Fascism, whether it is Franco's or Sergio's, is the running thread that holds this wild fantasy together.

Kiko de la Rica is the photographic genius that created one amazingly vivid cinematographic ride that even in the daylight never seems pristine or dreamy enough. The world is always tainted – darkened – by something from the edges as well as within the hearts of the characters, and his skill brings this to light frame after frame.

The acting is absolutely brilliant and riveting, with Areces and de la Torre going toe to toe at every turn. I can only imagine how mind-numbingly drained the performances had left them. Then again, how could any actor in the film not embrace the quirky and enigmatic characters created by Iglesias? None of the characters were run of the mill or plucked off the shelf like so much Hollywood drek.

However, though this falls under the realm of horror, I sincerely doubt many fans of the genre would embrace the movie. This is not because horror aficionados are stupid and only adore slasher films, but this is one of those movies that could easily make someone question the very definition of the genre. And with a multi-faceted feature such as this, horror plays a role, like a character, and does not permeate the tale.

Regardless, there's something for everyone in THE LAST CIRCUS, and if you like freaky films that defy description, you should enjoy this riveting feature.