CIRCO

TedFlicks Rating:

$6.50 ticket on a scale of $0 to $13.50

Your Tax Dollars at Work

“Circo,” the first feature length film from helmer Aaron Schock got funding from, among others, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the New York State Council on the Arts.  Schock, according to his bio, “worked for several years in non profit community development in New York City before moving into filmmaking.”  In New York that means Schock is a politically connected guy.  Accordingly it should come as no surprise that pic benefits from government coin.  CPB involvement probably means a PBS run in the offing.  One could ask why, when budgets everywhere are squeezed and public employees laid off, are two respected government agencies investing in a semi-verité documentary about a traveling circus in Mexico.  Granted, “Circo” is a tale worth telling.  But two issues mitigate against public money for it.  First, it is set entirely in Mexico (a question of relevance to Americans and to New Yorkers, although New York City boasts a large Mexican population); and second, it is not a very good film.  It’s not bad.  It’s just that the whole is less than the sum of the parts.

Pic’s problem is simple.  The semi-verité style, in which all the narration is provided by miked subjects, is a difficult thing to pull off.  It requires tremendous discipline in the cutting room.  Cut, cut, and cut!  There is a temptation in the genre to let subjects say and do the same thing over and over again in the final cut.  Schock and cutter Mark Becker (who shares writing credit with Schock) give in to temptation.

It’s as if a tightrope walker in the circus (Circo is Spanish for circus) lost his balance.  This is not “The Greatest Show on Earth.”  Heck, it’s not even “Carny.”

With a firmer hand at the throttle and a cold machete, “Circo” could have been an excellent film.  At best it is middling.  It feels a lot longer than its 75 minutes.  That said, tech credits are not bad.  Schock, who shot all of it over a two year period, knows cinematography.  Natural sound and music (by Calexico) are ably recorded.  Interview subjects are well miked.

The subject matter is compelling and mostly remains so despite the overwrought storytelling.  It’s the clash between tradition and reality — in this case the clash between the needs of a modern family, the scions of seven generations of circus performers, and the traveling circus tradition and the emotional attachment of some of them to it.  Exposition, which dribbles out, reveals that circus life in Mexico is not lucrative.  In fact, most circuses are deeply in debt, and there is vast overcapacity — in other words too many circuses chasing too small an audience.  The Gran Circo de Mexico (Great Mexican Circus) is typical.  The troupe travel in dilapidated trailer trucks and live in a mobile home.  The kids, the wife, the grandparents, all work day and night.  There is tension between the generations.  Tino Ponce is the ringmaster and sparkplug of the troupe.  He and wife Ivonne argue over their future.  Their kids — and Tino, himself — are largely illiterate.  There is no time for school.  Tino’s dad runs the show — and collects all the money — much to Ivonne’s disgust.  Siblings come and go.  Some of them are seduced by a “normal” life only to return to the troupe.  Tino’s loyalty eventually costs him his marriage and three of his four kids.  His oldest, Casarcas, a talented animal trainer and tightrope walker, is clearly seduced by the audience attention, especially from teenage girls.  Eventually he will inherit Tino’s position.

“Circo” is two stories intertwined.  In one way it’s a bit like Mama Rose and her troupe in “Gypsy” before Gypsy becomes a star.  In another it’s “Scenes from a Marriage.”  Either way, it’s not a happy ending.  Children probably will not understand the adult themes in this unrated pic.  They may be entertained by the animals, the acts, and the child performers.  “Circo” is in Spanish with English subtitles.  To its credit, it treats its subjects with respect.  Unfortunately it could have been a far better pic.

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Circo on Netflix