The Butterfly Circus (2009)

Memorable, crazy movie

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

A member of my choir recommended this gorgeous film, and I am so glad! I'm amazed that so much can be done with 22 minutes of film. Its warm, inspiring tone is moving, the essence of the Great Depression and circus aspects are first- rate. Each element is at once true, realistic, and entertaining. The acting is low-key, and the story line goes in unexpected directions. Not a predictable note occurs. Actually, at first, I wasn't sure I'd like it, but it won me over in the end. It has won a Doorpost Award deservedly. I hope we'll hear more from the artists behind "Butterfly Circus," for this is the kind of film that cheers the heart, fills the eye with beauty and makes cinema fans want to make their own films to match the wonder, which we certainly need more of in our lives. This is what good film is meant to do.

This film by director Joshua Weigel is about a cabinet of curiosities and runs for little over 20 minutes. Basically, it's a bit of a road movies as we see circus performances, but also how paths of the artists cross with the random population always stuck between fascination and disgust for the creatures that make up the ensemble. The cast members are rather unknown with one exception maybe, Doug Jones known a.o. as Pan from Guillermo del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth".It's a nice idea as there's not too many films on the issue, even less short films, but this one did not do much for me. The shocking sequences (a limbless man almost drowning) felt as unconvincing as the emotional (the child's hug towards the end), so I'm a bit baffled by the high rating. There's really nothing in this effort that justifies a running time over way over 15 minutes. Weigel hasn't made a film for almost five years and if he ever wants to step into full feature territory, he will need to step things up. I hope he manages, as, occasionally, glimpses of talent were visible. If you enjoyed the likes of Terry Gilliam's "Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus", give this one a go, otherwise stay away.

we get it: with hope and faith in yourself you can achieve more, but this old wisdom for most viewers doesn't need to be spelled out this impudently (although, considering the many praising reviews of this short film on the net, I've marked this as a spoiler). every scene, I daresay every look and act is soaked in that feel-goodness, and turns these twenty minutes into a painfully transparent watch for the persistent viewer. apart from that, the acting and dialog are quite horrible and the script is trite and superficial. where sarcasm or mockery could, shamelessly copying from the Carnivàle series nor idealism can save this film from being bad.

I came across this film after having seen one of Nick's talks. Being an inspirational character himself this film manages to put him in a perfect setting of good actors, settings and brilliant dialogues. The idea of a phoenix rising from the ashes, never to give up hope and to inspire people rather than making them laugh at "a man's imperfections on display" are all great themes, which one is left missing in most modern day Hollywood films.Overall this film is deeply touching, inspirational and I can, without any hesitation whatsoever, recommend this film to everyone! This film has won the Doorpost contest 2009 and rightly so!You can see this film for free at www.thedoorpost.com