If you are in NYC this weekend check out the Rooftop Film series in El Barrio

// July 6th, 2010 // Film & Script Reviews

Saturday, July 10th

THE TIGHTROPE
http://www.rooftopfilms.com/2010/schedule/24-the-tightrope

WHERE:
On the roof of El Museo Del Barrio
1230 5th Ave. at 104th St. (East Harlem)
New York, NY 10029
6 to 103rd St. or 2/3 to 110th St.

WHEN:
8:00 Doors Open
8:30 Live Music by Rana Santacruz
9:00 Film begins
11:30 After-party on the roof: Open bar courtesy of Radeberger Pilsner

THE FILM:

A pink poodle leaps on the back of a horse–or tries to over and over.
A trapeze artist literally scrapes his shoulders against the
stars–the fabric of the big top is wearing thin. A clown’s face
brightens up–imperceptibly, perhaps, to all but the closest observer.
The images are evocative, the performers are passionate, but for this
classic family circus, passing through small towns in Mexico, the show
is suffering and the crowds are sparse. The noble search for glory is
giving way to the mere struggle for survival.

Filmmaker Nuria Ibanez has pointed out that in cinema, as in the
circus, there has always been a divide between “the machine of dreams
and the mirror of reality,” between fiction/fantasy and
documentary/reality. Ibanez, trained as a screenwriter, expertly melds
the two forms in her stunning debut film, The Tightrope. With a deft
eye for symbolic details, a remarkable gift for artistically
representing key story points, and the ability to quietly build
narrative tension, Ibanez has crafted a realist documentary that feels
like a dreamy fiction.

Ibanez illuminates the way the circus itself attempts to cross fluidly
between these realms. We see the performers practice and theorize, out
of costume and in the bright of day, as they aim to create wondrous
illusions that are remarkably real. But with this circus a forlorn
reality has settled on their lives like the meticulously observed
sawdust on their sweat. They are caught in a cycle spiraling downward:
decreasing crowds portend less revenue; lack of funds means broken
props, misplaced costumes and lost animals; low morale leads to
sub-par performances.

At the end of her rope, in love with a performer who doesn’t have the
circus truly in his blood, Jaque, the eldest daughter of the circus,
considers leaving. Her ongoing contemplation–sometimes seen in
frustrated exchanges, sometimes coyly hidden behind a
curtain–comprises the emotional crux of the film. It’s easy to
understand why she would leave this difficult life. But she sees in
her father, who impressively demonstrates his expertise at many circus
arts, the pride and dignity of the hardworking performer-craftsman.
And as she discusses with her mother, if she leaves the spotlight, “no
one will ever applaud you for cooking dinner.”

Jaque gazes beyond the bigtop, the circus balances on a tightrope, and
viewers of this lovely and intimate film will be riveted to the
screen.

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