Dear Reader: Update, Movie Review Intelligence will
continue publishing this website through June (more...)
Search a Movie:
THE LAST CIRCUS (BALADA TRISTE DE TROMPETA)Movie Reviews
Spanish language comic horror movie about a clown who is forced to fight in the Spanish Civil War, and his son, who lives through the Franco regime. Cast:Carlos Areces, Antonio de la Torre, Carolina Bang, Manuel Tallafé, Alejandro Tejerías, Manuel TejadaDirector:Álex de la IglesiaRelease Date:August 19, 2011DVD Release:November 29, 2011From:MagnoliaRating:RLength:1 hr 47 min
NOVEMBER 29, 2011
The Last Circus (Balada triste de trompeta), Very Good Reviews, Mixed Limited
The Last Circus (Balada triste de trompeta) played in limited release to very good reviews that at the same time were mixed. • Jeannette Catsoulis wrote in the New York Times, "Brilliant, bizarre, dazzling... the jaw-dropping brio of its execution takes the breath away: resisting its lunatic spell would probably require full-body sedation." • And Greg Quill wrote in the Toronto Star, "...you'll never see anything like it again." More Reviews Below...
The Last Circus (Balada triste de trompeta) Positive Reviews (14 Reviews, reviews below)
The Last Circus (Balada triste de trompeta) has not been reviewed by Broad National Press
we have an app for when you're out and about
get our iPhone app... or get our mobile web app...
movie review intelligence
NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (7 Reviews)
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "Brilliant, bizarre, dazzling... the jaw-dropping brio of its execution takes the breath away: resisting its lunatic spell would probably require full-body sedation."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 412 words, 08/19/11
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Take Fellini, Tarantino and 'Taxi Driver,' throw 'em in a cage with a lion, and you'd get this strange, wild trip.... terrifically weird, funny and garish."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 105 words, 08/19/11
V.A. Musetto, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...features garish costumes, grotesque ultraviolence and plenty of other assorted weirdness. Although not everybody's glass of sangria, it has the making of a cult hit."(See all of V.A. Musetto's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 166 words, 08/19/11
Greg Quill, Toronto Star: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a jaw-dropping, barnstorming mess of a yarn ramped up to 11 on every level.... you won't forget it and you'll never see anything like it again."(See all of Greg Quill's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 509 words, 09/30/11
Aaron Hillis, Village Voice: OUTSTANDING "Baroquely sinister and grotesquely funny... a stunning funhouse-mirror allegory of Franco-era Spain that makes 'Pan's Labyrinth' look like 'Sesame Street.' "(See all of Aaron Hillis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 220 words, 08/17/11
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "...a bizarre, surreal, grotesque, fascinating, demanding, disappointing and ultimately exhausting political allegory that plays like a waking nightmare."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 390 words, 09/30/11
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...disappointingly low on laughs. Or thrills. Or much of anything, really.... goes over the top so quickly that its amped-up insanity becomes exhausting..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 217 words, 09/29/11
KEY CITIES (2 Reviews)
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...it's not particularly coherent or empathetic, and after time the sloppiness of the technique wears you down more than the little perks of audacity manage to lift you."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 175 words, 02/25/11
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: VERY GOOD(cg) "If you're the sort who demands logic and plausibility from movies, this is not for you. But for those with a taste for the subversive and outrageous, run, don't walk."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 521 words, 09/23/11
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (3 Reviews)
Aaron Hillis, Village Voice: OUTSTANDING "Baroquely sinister and grotesquely funny... a stunning funhouse-mirror allegory of Franco-era Spain that makes 'Pan's Labyrinth' look like 'Sesame Street.' "(See all of Aaron Hillis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 220 words, 08/17/11
Nick Schager, Slant: VERY GOOD(cg) "Director Álex de la Iglesias holds back nothing, a strategy that generates a compelling sense of the phantasmagoric nightmarishness of Franco's Spain."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 663 words, 08/07/11
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...disappointingly low on laughs. Or thrills. Or much of anything, really.... goes over the top so quickly that its amped-up insanity becomes exhausting..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 217 words, 09/29/11
HIGHBROW PRESS (2 Reviews)
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "Brilliant, bizarre, dazzling... the jaw-dropping brio of its execution takes the breath away: resisting its lunatic spell would probably require full-body sedation."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 412 words, 08/19/11
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: EXCELLENT "...if the idea of an unholy collaboration between, say, Guillermo del Toro, Federico Fellini and William Castle appeals to you, then put it on your must-see list right now."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,208 words, 08/18/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Jay Weissberg, Daily Variety: POOR "Loud, tedious and unattractive in every sense... combines director Álex de la Iglesia's customary cartoonishness with horror and ups it a thousand notches."(See all of Jay Weissberg's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 664 words, 09/09/10
Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter: FAIR "The circus has been used in just about every conceivable way in films, but perhaps not since Todd Browning's 1932 'Freaks' has it gone so far over the top in horror..."(See all of Deborah Young's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 707 words, 10/15/10
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...informs and illuminates its remarkably original subject by blending together different kinds of narrative strands and different kinds of visual styles.... highly effective work."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 408 words, 08/19/11
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "Brilliant, bizarre, dazzling... the jaw-dropping brio of its execution takes the breath away: resisting its lunatic spell would probably require full-body sedation."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 412 words, 08/19/11
25.7 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Last Circus (Balada triste de trompeta)'s reviews are separated by an average 25.7 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The Last Circus (Balada triste de trompeta) (14 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Last Circus (Balada triste de trompeta)'s reviews cover 12.8% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 6,365 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 455 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
The Last Circus (Balada triste de trompeta) Coverage, Volume & Length (14 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 25 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Last Circus (Balada triste de trompeta)'s reviews on average broke 25 days before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The Last Circus (Balada triste de trompeta)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Last Circus (Balada triste de trompeta) (14 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
Mobile Web App version 1.2 shows a list of all current movies and review information. You can click through to the cast, director, synopsis, release date and rating on page two, plus individual reviews on page three. The information is updated on a live/real-time basis. You can also search our database of films. Designed for when you're on the move and want the latest info, this app will work on any mobile web browser. From your mobile device -- only from a mobile device -- open our Mobile Web App here...
