50
The film engages sporadically but mostly fails to take advantage of its under-documented milieu.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
60
Circo zeroes in on the interpersonal strife within this collapsing clan - an angle that only occasionally lifts the film above confessional exotica.
80
Circo is filled with beautiful images and haunting moments, especially in the third act, when the family unravels as the film culminates in a final triumphant, haunting image.
90
The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis
Circo offers a touching chronicle of a dying culture harnessed to ambitions that remain very much alive.
90
Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan
A marvel of a documentary, a clear-eyed and affectionate film that tells a remarkable story with both visual and personal sensitivity. More impressive still, it's largely the work of one man.
75
Circo offers a fascinating mix of backstage drama and family dynamics.
83
Though Circo is pretty bleak, Schock doesn't skimp on the exotic wonder of a life on the road, surrounded by color and danger.
80
The Hollywood Reporter by Sheri Linden
A well-told tale, and though its compact running time makes it a fine TV fit, its visual poetry is worth a big-screen look.
75
Circo is more like "The Smallest Show on Earth" than "The Greatest Show on Earth," the 1952 Oscar winner, but it does provide a look at a unique family and a disappearing way of life.
75
San Francisco Chronicle by Walter Addiego
The most amazing act in the Gran Circo Mexico doesn't take place in the ring - it's the grind between performances.