Criterion Challenge 202537. Watch a film shorter than 80 minutesCircus Angel, directed by Albert Lamorisse, 1965
Albert Lamorisse’s films that I’ve seen are so clearly made for children in a wonderful way. There is an innate sense of wonder present in his work, particularly as it pertains to flight. The Red Balloon ends with a flight sequence, Stowaway in the Sky is a globe-trotting flight adventure, and now, having seen Circus Angel, I can see how Lamorisse is able to inject that wonder into something still relatively small scale.
A thief finds himself hiding out at a circus to evade capture. He is integrated into the circus act himself, donning wings that actually do grant him the ability to fly — a gift that he uses to steal from others more often than not. The sense of wonder that the thief has is very brief at the beginning, with a lot of that wonder shifting to the perspective of those witnessing the act of a man flying and truly believing that he is an angel. It’s incredibly tender with how this man whose only crime is theft, makes connections with others and draws ire from a smaller select group. It’s a series of mishaps that give Lamorisse ample opportunity to showcase the awe-inspiring act of flight, and even takes a lot of chances to shoot fancy aerial views for chase sequences. It’s overall just light and fluffy, not as striking or warm as the other films of his that I’ve loved despite the rather engaging romance story present
Criterion Challenge 202537. Watch a film shorter than 80 minutesCircus Angel, directed by Albert Lamorisse, 1965
Albert Lamorisse’s films that I’ve seen are so clearly made for children in a wonderful way. There is an innate sense of wonder present in his work, particularly as it pertains to flight. The Red Balloon ends with a flight sequence, Stowaway in the Sky is a globe-trotting flight adventure, and now, having seen Circus Angel, I can see how Lamorisse is able to inject that wonder into something still relatively small scale.
A thief finds himself hiding out at a circus to evade capture. He is integrated into the circus act himself, donning wings that actually do grant him the ability to fly — a gift that he uses to steal from others more often than not. The sense of wonder that the thief has is very brief at the beginning, with a lot of that wonder shifting to the perspective of those witnessing the act of a man flying and truly believing that he is an angel. It’s incredibly tender with how this man whose only crime is theft, makes connections with others and draws ire from a smaller select group. It’s a series of mishaps that give Lamorisse ample opportunity to showcase the awe-inspiring act of flight, and even takes a lot of chances to shoot fancy aerial views for chase sequences. It’s overall just light and fluffy, not as striking or warm as the other films of his that I’ve loved despite the rather engaging romance story present
