Combining interviews and candid footage to create a mixture of melancholy, bravado, and local color, filmmaker Aaron Schock follows the itinerant Circo Mexico—a struggling small-time circus operated for generations by the Ponce dynasty—as it rambles around the village circuit of the Mexican hinterlands. Circo Mexico's acts aren't fancy or impressive enough to make it in the big cities, ringmaster Tino Ponce admits. Family members take turns as performers and managers, but tent-caravan life is not for everyone, especially the women who are attracted to the magnetic Ponce men. The drama at the center of the narrative revolves around the ambivalence of the outspoken Ivonne, who defiantly left her scandalized family behind to marry Tino and have children, but who eventually becomes fed up with the lifestyle. The saga ends with the next generation taking over the enterprise's assorted pleasures and heartaches, in times of changing cultural interests and devastating economic recession. Circo is not unlike a certain pop song about gypsies, tramps, and thieves (although the music here is by the popular indie-rock group Calexico). DVD extras include an update on the Ponces, a featurette on the music score, and an interview with the director. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)
Circo
(2010) 75 min. In Spanish w/English subtitles. DVD: $27.95. First Run Features (avail. from most distributors). Volume 26, Issue 6
Circo
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