A Sad Trumpet Ballad
| The Last Circus | |
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Theatrical poster
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| Directed by | Álex de la Iglesia |
| Produced by | Vérane Frédiani Gerardo Herrero Franck Ribière |
| Written by | Álex de la Iglesia |
| Starring |
Carlos Areces Antonio de la Torre Carolina Bang |
| Music by | Roque Baños |
| Cinematography | Kiko de la Rica |
| Edited by | Alejandro Lázaro |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by |
Warner Bros. (Spain) Magnet Releasing (United States) |
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Release date
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| Country | Spain |
| Language | Spanish |
The Last Circus (Spanish: Balada Triste de Trompeta; "Sad Trumpet Ballad") is a 2010 Spanish dark comedy drama film written and directed by Álex de la Iglesia. It premiered at the 2010 Venice Film Festival.
In 1937, Republican Militia force a circus troupe to fight on their side in the Spanish Civil War. The Funny Clown (Santiago Segura) slaughters dozens of Nationalist troops, armed only with a machete, before being shot and disarmed. While his fellow troupe members are executed, the Funny Clown is sentenced to work as a slave laborer, at the monument of the Valle de los Caídos. His son, Javier (Sasha Di Bendetto) tries to free him by setting off dynamite where he was working. But Colonel Salcedo (Sancho Gracia) tramples the Funny Clown to death with his horse. Javier knocks him down, gouging out his eye in the process. Salcedo vows to remember Javier for this insult.
In 1973, Javier (Carlos Areces) joins a circus as its sad clown, as he has never been able to make children laugh. His counterpart as funny clown is Sergio (Antonio de la Torre), an arrogant, crude, violent man who admits that were he not a clown, he would probably be a murderer. Javier begins to fall in love with Sergio's girlfriend, the trapeze artist Natalia (Carolina Bang). After Sergio becomes enraged when Javier refuses to laugh at his jokes at dinner one night, Sergio beats Natalia unconscious then storms out. Javier encourages Natalia to leave Sergio, but when Sergio returns she engages in rough anal sex against a window while Javier cowers below. She later tells Javier that she is sexually and emotionally attracted to Sergio's violent nature.
Sergio admits that Javier is an excellent sad clown but grows suspicious about his attention to Natalia. In fact, Natalia has encouraged Javier to develop feelings for her, as she was impressed by his refusal to laugh when Sergio told him to. They begin to see one another behind Sergio's back. One night, at an amusement park, Natalia admits she has begun to love Javier as well and kisses him tenderly. Sergio suddenly appears and beats them both savagely; Javier's wounds land him in the hospital. Natalia tells Javier they must never see one another again for his sake. After having a dream in which Sergio foils his repeated attempts to rescue Natalia from various situations, Javier escapes from the hospital and returns to the circus. Despite the efforts of the other troupe members to stop him, Javier finds Sergio and Natalia having sex. Now insane, Javier beats Sergio mercilessly in the face with a trumpet, leaving him mauled and near death. As Javier escapes through the sewers, the circus troupe takes Sergio to the closest doctor – a veterinarian – for medical care. The doctor is able to save Sergio, but his face is horribly scarred with a glasgow smile. The circus is forced to close down. Natalia and several of the other troupe members become performers in a nightclub.
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