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.

The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis

Circo offers a touching chronicle of a dying culture harnessed to ambitions that remain very much alive.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Joe Williams

An artfully observant and unexpectedly moving documentary.

The A.V. Club by Noel Murray

Though Circo is pretty bleak, Schock doesn't skimp on the exotic wonder of a life on the road, surrounded by color and danger.

Village Voice by Ernest Hardy

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.

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.

Boston Globe by Loren King

Circo offers a fascinating mix of backstage drama and family dynamics.

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.

New York Post by V.A. Musetto

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.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Jennie Punter

Ever so subtly, Schock gradually transports us beyond the exotic and into gripping universal storytelling, aided all the way by the evocative music of Tucson songsmiths Calexico.

Time Out by David Fear

Circo zeroes in on the interpersonal strife within this collapsing clan - an angle that only occasionally lifts the film above confessional exotica.

Boxoffice Magazine

The film engages sporadically but mostly fails to take advantage of its under-documented milieu.