Circo by Aaron Schock

Film #4 at the BFI LFF 2010 – Circo by Aaron Schock

The Circo Mexico is a travelling circus company run by one of the Ponce brothers, part of a family that has been running circuses for over 100 years in Mexico. With a rag-tag collection of animals and artistes, the Circo tours rural Mexico putting up an inventive variety of shows and acts. Everyone in the circus has their role to play: from the ‘patrone’ grandfather who collects tickets, to the teenage ‘contortionistas’, to the ‘death-defying’ motorcyclist... all the way down to 8 year old Neymadelita (?) who dons an outsized mask to become a very popular, hand-shaking clown, her 15 minutes of fame.

But all the vignettes and fun cover the many fault-lines underneath… of wives unhappy with their children's burden, of grandparents (almost a Greek chorus in themselves, as the presenter said) who constantly judge their sons' women, of children who only know to spell mama, papa and bear, of boys who break teen hearts in every town they visit. Suffused with an exact delicate mix of humour and pathos that makes it such a feast, the movie pans across a dying tradition and way of life... one that is precious for its practitioners now as it was for it’s audiences 50 years ago.

Aaron Schock, the director came on stage to talk about the movie – he had actually gone to Mexico intending to make a documentary about the NAFTA impact on Mexican corn farmers… he said he was gathering information and searching for a story when Circo Mexico came into town. After meeting up with the artistes and the Ponce family, he knew he had his story.

He was pleasantly surprised that the London audience ‘got’ most of the funny quirks he had captured, in marked contrast to American audiences, he said. He was looking forward to the Mexican premiere, 2 days from now when ‘Circo’ would be screened in a plaza with Tito Ponce & family attending. Someone in the audience asked the question that was on everyone's mind, "What happened next?" - the movie closes with Tito's wife insisting that they split from her in-laws and they actually do. The director said that the (Greek chorus!) grandparents had actually shut down the circus and settled down near their daughters; meanwhile, Tito and his wife, Ivonne along with their children have started off their own circus on a much smaller scale with much less resources... but as Schock said, "If anyone can pull it off, it would be them". When you watch the documentary, you'll know why.

‘Circo’ continues from where “The Eagle Hunter’s Son” left off from last year… the only difference was that this was real and therefore, direct and disturbing.

Viva El Circo Mexico!

Image from BFI website here