CIFF 2011: The Clown

This Brazilian film tells the story of Benjamin, a clown in a rag tag travelling circus who is hoping to discover his past. All Benjamin has of his history is a birth certificate and his father and fellow clown in the Circus Esperanca (Hope Circus). Their acts are well-worn but still tailored to each of the little towns they visit, creating happy distractions to the townsfolk.

Benjamin breaks away from his circus family to try to discover who his mother is (and for some reason, a portable fan). It's a sort of low rent Wizard of Oz quest, as Benjamin experiences the senseless outside world only to realize he belongs with the circus folk who valued him all along.

Many films about clowns portray the sentiment of "laughing on the outside, crying on the inside," and that is also the case here. When Benjamin is not performing, we see the despondency on his face, until his last realization that he should not be seeking something that doesn't want him, and instead go where he is wanted. There are slapstick clown routines which different members of the circus participate in, many of which feel like silent film humor, but through which we can see the circus' precarious existence. As a whole the film has a sensibility and visual style similar to that of director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, City of Lost Children, Amelie).