The Last Circus shows us the tale of a man named Javier (Carlos Areces) who has chosen to follow in his father’s footsteps of being a circus clown. Unfortunately, Javier has never been a funny character or understood humor, not even as a child, so he is forced to play the daunting role of Sad Clown.
After joining a small-time circus, the shy Javier begins to grow affectios for the circus’ acrobat Natalia (Carolina Bang), but Natalia, an adrenaline junky, is already head over heels in love and lust with the circus’ prime performer and moneymaker Sergio (Antonio de la Torre) who is Happy Clown. Sergio is a vicious alcoholic who reminds everyone that he rules the circus and when he is not busy abusing other circus members, or beating Natalia, he terrorizes Javier both in character and in reality at every turn.
Javier attempts to rescue Natalia from Sergio’s violent ways which enrages the cretin even further, and soon Sergio’s spiteful actions unleash a hidden vileness inside Javier that he has never known, setting both clowns on a blood filled collision that puts not only Natalia in danger but some of Spain’s most important political figures thanks to the legacy of Javier’s father, a former Happy Clown and militant butcher of National Soldiers over 30 years ago.
The Last Circus is a violently twisted, passionate film. The circus life and the mentality of its compatriots are in full demented effect throughout the movie. They do not think the way most people do because they do not live the lives most people do. All of the dementia and carnality is created and captured eloquently by writer/director Alex de la Iglesia (The Oxford Murders) with grim cinematography reflecting the mood of the story and a melodious, spiritual soundtrack that will haunt the viewer long through the night.
Some viewers might not understand the brand of humor in The Last Circus, which is as dark as the subject matter, but that is a regular staple of Alex de la Iglesia’s movies. The performances were well executed by the whole cast but Antonio de la Torre shines through it all as the incomparable, dastardly Sergio.
The movie is well paced as new discoveries and adventures are being made around ever turn, but as the story progresses it becomes difficult to know who to root for as reasoning and logic are manipulated by the mental state of these characters, but once the movie is done you will ask yourself “What the hell did I just see?” and if you’re mind can handle it, you may just sit back for a repeat viewing, but I would recommend a mental breather. There is no movie like this yet this year or forthcoming that I am aware of, and leave it to Spain to have the brevity to deliver a film of this high quality insanity. No one in America has the nerve or the talent to pull off something like this, and even if they did, no North American studio would ever go near it.
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