Circus- Directed by Grigory Aleksandrov

Circus, a melodramatic musical comedy film released in 1936, was a film that I went into with the assumption that I would not like it. I was wrong; the film was quite entertaining to watch and exemplified the ideals of Soviet Realism quite evidently. The main character Marion Dixon, an American circus performer forced to leave her home country due to a scandal involving the birth of an interracial baby, comes to the Soviet Union to perform in their circus. Through some interesting circumstances, she falls in love with one of the performers, Martynov and decides to stay in Soviet Russia. However, this is not without conflict; a man she meets upon her exodus from America decides to use her dark secret (no pun intended) to blackmail her. At the end of the film, Marion's secret is revealed by the blackmailer, and the existence of her mixed race child is made public. The catch? The Soviet people are accepting of Marion and her dark-skinned son, accepting them as their own and making them feel like they belong, making the blackmailer's plan null and void. It is this very moment that makes one notice the bright influential light of Soviet Realism shining through. Using Marion as an example of assimilation, the director shows the viewers that the Soviet Union is accepting of all kinds and will welcome anyone who wishes to join their cause. I really liked how Aleksandrov used this to make the Soviet ideals shine through; it gave the film a deeper meaning beyond the comical aspects of the film. Looking at the two Soviet Realist films seen so far in class, I would have to say that Circus portrays the Soviet message in a more subtle way that Chapaev did due to the message only being received at the end. Altogether, I liked Circus a lot and regard it as one of the best films seen in class to date.