At Times Infectious

When you ask a lot of comic book fans what the greatest origin story of any superhero is, Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One will most likely be the answer every time.
Whether you’re a fan of his writing or not it’s impossible to deny what he did for Batman would serve as a template for every one of his stories following the publication of year one (Batman #400 through 403).

DC has been creating animated features based on some of their most popular comics over the past couple years. Their previous film “All-Star Superman” was near perfectly adapted (granted they used seven out of the 12 comics) to the small screen. “Batman: Year One” tops that, it is the most faithful adaptation of any film ever made. Frank Miller’s script is flawlessly kept intact, and while the art is not exactly identical to David Mazzuchelli’s, every one of his panels are reproduced exquisitely. The storyboard team had the easiest job in the world. It is disappointing, as someone who is familiar to the source material, that Richard Lewis’ color palette was abandoned. Much of the visual grittiness was lost in the creative decision DC had made.

While the script is flawless in it’s adaptation, the pacing of the film is so fast, so in-your-face, that it’s hard to make any sort of investment in the story, unlike it’s paperback counterpart. Shots could’ve been held much longer for dramatic effect but instead it never lingers on any single scene and a lack of cityscape shots ensures that you never really get a sense of how large Gotham City is, or how bad crime in this metropolis can get.

This movie relies heavily on the vocal talent as a story is not action-heavy but very much character/dialogue driven. With Bryan Cranston Cassis Jim Gordon he brings more integrity to the character than anyone before him, including Gary Oldman’s live interpretation in “The Dark Knight”. Unfortunately Ben McKenzie’s Bruce Wayne never hits the same mark, and with the exception of one scene never delivers believability to the billionaire playboy. There is a silver lining however his Batman voice is gravelly abrasive and intense the not nearly as forced as Christian Bale’s in “Batman Begins”. Rounding out the main vocal cast is Eliza Dushku as Selena Kyle/Catwoman. There’s nothing special in her casting, though she doesn’t miss a beat either. It’s hard to be so enthusiastic about her when Adrianne Barbeau (“Batman: the Animated Series”) brought so much life to the role years before her. The rest of the cast does a superb job not distracting you from the point of focus.

Christopher Drakes’s score works out great for the film though at times, when compared to his “All-Star Superman” score feels far less iconic, especially when A/B comparing the two ending themes for the credits roll. The beauty of reading the comic is that you can put whatever music behind the panels that you want, so in that respect the book will trump the film every time.

“Batman: Year One” is great for those that haven’t read the graphic novel, but for longtime devotees like myself, it can actually seem, at moments, rather boring. It would be no surprise to anyone reading this review that “Batman: Year One” is not my favorite story, mainly because of my belief that Frank Miller channelled his own personality into the dark knight’s. While other writers grasp the character far better (Chuck Dixon for instance), it really is impossible to deny what Miller did for the Batman mythos. If you’re unwilling to pick up the graphic novel for nearly the same price, the film is a quick and digestible way to take in the story with 60 minutes of free time.

It’s hard to compare “The Last Circus” to other films, though it’s not an impossible task to find some similarities or homages to other cinematic works littered across the Alex De La Iglesia directed Spanish-language picture.

The story begins in 1937 where a happy clown is forced to join a bloody battle during a children’s performance while still in make-up, handed only a machete, and massacres a whole platoon single-handedly. Jump to 1973, the son of the Happy Clown, Javier, attempts to follow in his footsteps, but, at the suggestion of his father, instead takes up a career as a Sad Clown. Joining a small circus, he is welcomed with open arms by all but his counterpart, the local Happy Clown, Sergio. Thrown head-first into a weird and twisted sort of love-triangle, Sergio and Javier must somehow learn to come to terms with each other’s differences or destroy everything that stands between them, including themselves.

The theatrical trailers establish it’s serious tone, but completely allude to the fact that this movie is a dark comedy. It’s this subjective humor that lightens the incredibly grim storytelling while also serving as the propellant to the next disturbing moment in the grand scheme of things to unravel.

The orchestral score is incredible and only serves to heighten the tension before suddenly jarring you about like a couple of beans in a tin can. The source cues were appropriately selected. One in particular, “Balada Triste de Trompeta*” (“A Sad Trumpet Balad”) by Raphael serves to drive the film’s plot forward.
*The original footage for this song can be found on YouTube, which really should be watched to fully appreciate one of the film’s crowning moments, in terms of directing.

The makeup team should definitely be nominated this coming Academy Awards for their tremendous work on both Sergio’s Happy Clown and Javier’s Sad Clown. I don’t forsee their likenesses escaping my thoughts anytime soon.

Where the film may falter is at brief moments of certain special effects, which aren’t horribly done, but distract you just long enough to remind you that you are still watching a film. Also worth noting is that at some moments the translation may come off as cheesy, maybe simplistic, which becomes obvious almost instantly when the title of the film, “Balada Triste de Trompeta” is subtitled as “The Last Circus”. Like any great foreign film though, you forget you’re reading dialogue five minutes in and are strapped in until the very end.

Three-quarters of the way through, my impression for the film was almost skeptical of it’s worth for it’s several “Best Picture” nominations from various film committees. Sure it’s entertaining and the elements were there, the antoganist/protagonist dynamic was uniquely refreshing, but where was that defining moment? The part that makes you say “WOW, I’m glad I watched this”. That defining moment lies within the final five minutes, where everything comes full circle, opens your eyes, and makes you shake your head in disbelief of how poetic this masterpiece ends up becoming.

“The Last Circus” is a bloody fairytale that manages to escape playing-it-safe and swings-for-the-fences. Does it strike out or hit a home-run? This film will absolutely polorize opinion, not unlike what “No Country for Old Men” did. Did I somehow find a way to compare it to the 2007 Best Picture Academy Award Winner?

Yeah, I did.

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