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 ...

---

Plot Keywords:

clown | sad clown | circus | acrobat | spain | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

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.

---

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").

---

Connections

Features El gran circo de TVE (1973)

---

Soundtracks

"La quiero a morir (Je l'aime a mourir)"
Written by Francis Cabrel
Adaptation by Luis Gómez Escolar
Performed by Francis Cabrel

User Reviews

Outrageous film with odd characters , surreal imagery and twisted plot

Alex De la Iglesia is an excellent Spanish director . He had much success as "Accion Mutante" , " El Dia De la Bestia" , "Perlita Durango" and ¨La Comunidad¨ , among others . De la Iglesia is back with a tragical comedy about two Spanish clowns of the 70s . Here deals with a homage to dark humor and Spanish history from the Civil War until the 7os . In the film there are comedy, tongue in cheek, humor, horror, action, drama and is pretty entertaining . It's an exaggerated drama/comedy giving the perfect tone through the entire film , you can either follow it or just wander about the ridiculousness of every single minute . Some may regard this kind of dramatic comedy dull or dumb , but the truth is its the most simple, minimalistic, rawest, and pretentious comedy you will ever watch . As the shy Javier (Carlos Areces) and the violent Sergio (Antonio De La Torre) are two clowns who reach the heights of success with their circus show , but eerie events and an acrobat woman (Carolina Bang , partner is director Alex De Iglesia) turning them into deadly enemies . However, the hate between them grows as fast, and as much, as their horrible faces .

The picture blends thrills , suspense, tension as well as an intriguing script full of dark comedy , drama and exciting situations . Packed with scenes of absurd nature, this story is a fantastic farce, as we follow the ridiculous careers of a pair of clowns whose destination is dictated by a fateful love , rather than by their own decisions . The film works on various levels and is constantly reconfigured , however contains some embarrassing , contriving moments and also certain excess . Strong performance from three protagonists , Areces , Bang , De La Torre and excellent plethora of secondaries as Manuel Tejada , Gracia Olayo , Enrique Villen , Manuel Tallafe , all of them usual actors in ¨Pluton BRB Nero¨ series produced by Alex De Iglesia . Interesting screenplay Alex De La Iglesia who usually writes his films and bears remarkable resemblance to ¨Dying of laughter¨ or ¨Muertos de Risa¨ also with two comedians -Gran Wyoming and Santiago Segura , Alex's fetish actor- who reach the heights of success with their spectacle, becoming them into huge enemies . Atmospheric and dark cinematography by Kiko De La Rica with a good camera work . Suspenseful musical score by Roque Baños . The motion picture is well directed by De La Iglesia . He's a cool director has got much success as ¨Accion Mutante¨, ¨Crimen Ferpecto¨and ¨Oxford murders¨, and winner of several Goyas (Spanish Oscars), however his movies have not yet reached box office in USA, but he has strong followers . Nonsense, ridicule , laughters , absurdity , terror , disturbing scenes .. and many other issues ; you can find everything in this movie . The movie is a lot of fun, especially for those who know the historical period . This is without a doubt a thrilling and thought-provoking movie to be enjoyed for dark humor buffs and Alex De Iglesia fans.