Review of The Last Circus (2010) by Trent R — 10 Jun 2011

Santiago Segura is fantastic as a sort of inverse pope of anti-fascist vengeance, following the heretical logic of de la Iglesia's previous Dia de la Bestia to an even more irrational extreme. The attention to detail in period setting and degree of obsessive competition even exceed that of Crimen Ferpecto, although that sense of scope and metaphorical grandeur is weakened somewhat in the larger and later set pieces.

Be warned, there is a degree of grotesque and irreligious imagery influenced by Universal horror, Jodorowsky, Browning, Chaney, Karloff, Naschy and countless others. Many of which are incorporated into the credit montages alongside historical imagery that reoccurs in the film. The ritual self-mutilation and fascist aesthetics are vital to the allegorical points being made, although one could certainly find fault in their degree of literality or particulars of execution.

I found personally that de la Iglesia appears to be staying true to the political themes and nostalgic love of cinema history he's visited before in Accion Mutante or 800 Balas, but with much greater attention to scope and ambitious detail. Carolina Bang, his declared muse, is undeniably gorgeous and does an excellent job with the demands of playing an idealized/degraded female. Refreshingly here, the part is consciously cast as emblematic of the falsely dichotomous thinking tragically exhibited by these characters as products of war and related insanity.

But the depiction of military or religious authority and dogma are hilariously dark, drawing upon Goya, Bacon and Reifenstahl. This and the sheer amount of action on screen carry much of the first act, and the shifts in setting are extremely well incorporated to reflect Spanish horror cinema (Jodorowsky - Santa Sangre, Villaronga, Serrador) as much as the pop culture of the time.

This degree of ambition is great to see in particular for this director, as he is revisiting thematic territory that he and others have traveled, (La Strada, He Who Gets Slapped, Devil's Backbone, Spirit of the Beehive, Orfanato, Pan's Labyrinth, etc.). But the end set piece seemed a bit less effective for me due to the degree to which the characters were playing types, just as the nightclub and dream sequences were weakened by the idealization of Caroilina Bang. I was left completely entertained and impressed, but not particularly moved.