The Invisible Circus Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
A story of friendship, freedom and fate that could only happen in the Sixties
The journey is the destination.
In 1975, at age 18, Phoebe is unhappy. When she was about 10, her father died of leukemia; her older sister Faith became a political radical, left for Europe with her boyfriend Wolf, and commits suicide in Portugal a year later. Phoebe, who has romantic ideas about both her father and Faith, decides to trace Faith's steps, find Wolf, and learn what really happened. She finds Wolf in Paris, and he tells her stories of Faith's radical activities, including joining the Red Army in Berlin. Phoebe has visions of her sister, seems close to madness, and may be headed for suicide herself. It's the trip to the cliffs of Portugal that will make the difference: breakthrough or breakdown?
| Cameron Diaz | Faith |
| Jordana Brewster | Phoebe |
| Christopher Eccleston | Wolf |
| Blythe Danner | Gail |
| Camilla Belle | Phoebe, Age 10-12 |
| Patrick Bergin | Gene |
| Isabelle Pasco | Claire |
| Moritz Bleibtreu | Eric |
| Philipp Weissert | Safehouse Leader |
| Nikola Obermann | Hannah |
| Robert Getter | American Statesman |
| Ricky Koole | Nikki |
| Edward Olive | Chef |
| Adam Brooks |
5.50 out of 10 (1535 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Never took my eyes off of the screen
posted on 11 Mar 2009If I look hard enough, flaws can be found in this film, primarily with the script. I found the character of Wolf not totally convincing. However, those were my only "complaints." Because when this movie started on Cable, I was just going to record it and watch it later. However, from the beginning, with the eerie music and Cameron Diaz doing her spaced out 60's dance, I was riveted. I never got up until the movie was over. It seemed like I never even blinked.The acting of Cameron Diaz and Jordana Brewster was excellent. The scenes were beautiful, the girls were beautiful, and the music was haunting and very touching. The story was quite unique and at times had a surreal quality. The viewer would tend to like the picture more if they had a good understanding of the state of mind of young people in the 60's and 70's, especially in America. Many of the scenes basically succeeded in showing something of that era that is hard to pin down. It was a bit more complicated than the simplistic statement that they wanted to change the world and ended up disillusioned, although that may be the most obvious aspect. Phoebe learns more and more about this as the movie progresses.One aspect that didn't seem to be covered by the other reviewers that might bear mentioning, is the way the two daughters seem to drift through life after the death of their father. They both had adored him, and his presence had been a stabilizing factor in their lives and obviously he had loved them dearly. We read so much today about boys who lose their fathers too soon, only to lose their way themselves. This film covers the ripple effect of the loss of the father on the daughters left behind, first on the older sister Faith, then on to her younger sister. Their mother feels inadequate to try to be both parents. This type of dynamic is not covered in hardly any other movies, especially in so many different layers of plot and subplot. Phoebe's inner struggles of reality versus perceptions are gradually peeled away like layers of an onion.Speaking of plot, this movie should rate higher than it has here. I kept waiting for some great conspiracy to be found out concerning the death of Faith. How it did resolve itself surprised me, even if others may have guessed much sooner.Maybe not for everybody, but I could watch this movie many, many times.
Solid dramatic feature with a charming lead couple. Moving story.
posted on 05 Feb 2009I caught this on late, late Mexican cable and I have to rant about it. The title was translated as "Secretos" (Secrets). Well there's a secret that has an important part in the movie but come on, ! We are not stupid. We know there's a novel behind this.Anyways, the movie is pretty interesting and it's carried by it's solid ramatic performances. The always beautiful and stunning Jordana Brewster and Christopher Eccleston deliver great performances and have such great chemistry between them. Cameron Dìaz is also good although she has minimal on-screen time. Blythe Danner is perfect and his last appearance in the movie is touching, sad. Great performances. Jordana's character and her sister's ex-boyfriend travel to Europe in order for her to deal with his demons and understand why her sister died. Through flashbacks, we learn the sad truth and we can't help but feel sorry for the whole family. The ending is truly moving. So there's nudity but it's minimal. In fact, the sex scenes are artsy and do not intend to be steamy or sexy.To be honest, I kept watching it for Joranda Brewster's on screen charming and beauty. And I ended up liking the story and the dramatic presentations. Give this movie a try if you like solid dramatic features. Great movie. The last, last scene was very sad.. The two little sisters through flashbacks.
Slightly More Interesting Than A Sleeping Old Man
posted on 18 Sep 2008About a quarter of the way into "Invisible Circus," I and those sitting around me found ourselves far more amused by the person snoring loudly than by anything happening on the screen. That, in and of itself, is a partial indictment of the film. But then, there are some really excellent movies that also induce sleep.The movie traces the obsession of an 18-year-old over her older sister's suicide, and her attempt to follow in the footsteps of her sister's last months. This film falls into that large category of movies that seem to have an interesting set of ingredients, but somehow didn't get cooked right. That's not to say that it is terrible--you need to go to see Anti-Trust for that--it just doesn't fit together too neatly. In trying to be a love story-thriller-mystery-coming of age genre-bender, you end up with a movie that does none of them well. As a mystery it is far too predictable, as a thriller I was unmoved, the love story is monochromatic, the actors rarely move beyond wooden.Which is all really too bad. This is a movie that could have worked. The cinematography captures some really stunning location shots, and the story itself is interesting. The execution, however, falls flat.Wait and rent it. Or go rent "The English Patient" instead.
Where Did They Lose Me? Let Me Count The Ways!
posted on 08 Jan 2008What a shame. What a terrible shame. The table was set, the candles were lit, the guests had arrived... and then...... well nothing really. Just pretentious drivel. It could have been great, OK maybe not great, but it could have been very good. All the elements were there but at the end of the day the bottle was empty: NO LIGHTNING! How that happened is a mystery with everything at the director's disposal...... the story was quite brave although it certainly needed considerable work with possibly several finishing rewrites to fix the story and tighten up the characters a lot (the only thing that was consistently and constantly and unnecessarily tight was the cinematography, but i'll get to that). But the direction was lousy, the acting was just that: _a-C-T-i-n-G_ with a heavy side of cheese and lots of ham, and then the cinematography......well that was something to behold! But only if you are in film school's "Cinematography 101 how to never ever use a professional movie camera under any circumstances". Obviously the student had fallen asleep through part of the lecture's introduction and only heard "... use a professional movie camera..." then blissfully back to la la land as the sentence finished off.What can i say; amateurish and pretentious to the last! I can only see this film meant to appeal as a Chick Flick because it's supposed to be sad, but then falls flat and just ends up being 'sad' (as an excuse for a movie)... so that even those 'Chicks' wouldn't be fooled by this schlockenspiel! PS. I felt bad for Miss Diaz. She's a lot better at her craft than what this film allowed her to be, even though she was totally TOTALLY miscast. Actually i feel sorry for everyone in this movie except the director and (you guessed it) the cinematographer! I say '1st against the wall for them when the revolution comes!' OK, not really, after all "it was only a movie" but perhaps a good "tar and feather and running out of town" might be more satisfying or at the very least a lot more entertaining!!!TTFN :-(
Sweet and sad
posted on 02 Oct 2007As a father of four in his forties I thought this film made compelling viewing - if not edge-of-the-seat stuff. I deserves a far higher rating than the 4.3 that it had when I wrote this. (I gave it 7.)I agree with some of the comments about the characters but Cameron Diaz was, again, sparkling in yet another very different role. The plot was a little silly but the point of the film for me was beautifully summed up in the final, quite surreal, sequence. A moving ending for any parent.I could imagine that a young, single bloke might find the film quite boring but for other people not fixed on high doses of testosterone would find something sweet in this.
Location of last scenes?
posted on 04 Mar 2007Does anyone know where the last scenes were filmed, where "Faith" jumps, etc. The film states they are in Portugal. Is this truly the location? Good movie until the sister starts her affair with the ex-boyfriend, which I found to be creepy and awkward. It did not seem like a natural progression of events. It would have left a better feeling if the innocence of the sister was preserved, would have felt more like an ending with good closure, instead of the viewer wondering why that relationship started, what about his wife/girlfriend, where would this awkward relationship continue/end? I also felt like there was no real reason for Phoebe to take acid in the middle of her quest, and it was awkwardly placed in the film.
Interesting
posted on 04 Mar 2007An interesting movie with Jordana Brewster as a young woman who travels to Europe in an attempt to find out what became of her older sister (Cameron Diaz) who mysteriously died years earlier. Brewster is very good and keeps you involved despite some unrealistic plotting, such as having her amazinly find and start a romance with her dead sister's much older boyfriend (Christopher Eccleston). Still, mostly good. GRADE: B
It may be targeted to women, but that doesn't mean we'll like it...
posted on 15 Jan 2007To suggest, as a previous reviewer has done, that women are the only ones who will be able to sit through this movie is not only sexist but also false. I am a woman, and hated this film. The bottom line, whether you are male or female, is that this movie is terrible in many ways. The failure of this film can be blamed largely on Jordana Brewster. Her Phoebe is by turns annoying, cruel, selfish, ridiculous... you name it -- Brewster is almost unwatchable in her portrayal of a difficult character. I imagine an actress with more emotional sensitivity could have pulled it off and made the character a bit sympathetic, but Brewster fails entirely. From what I understand, she is studying at Yale... let's hope she's majoring in something other than drama. Cameron Diaz fares better -- unlike Brewster, she's actually acting. But her character Faith is cursed by writer/director Adam Brooks, who robs us visually and verbally of Faith's real struggle. He has the other characters inform us that Faith is upset, rather than give Diaz the chance to really portray the conflict onscreen. And so when we finally reach the point where we learn what really happened to her character, it feels like an anticlimax. Diaz tries her best, but she can't save Faith. I'm a fan of both Christopher Eccleston and Blythe Danner, and why either of them chose to appear in this movie is a mystery to me. Eccleston, like Diaz, is given little to work with -- he's reduced to a series of broody stares at Brewster and a very bad hippie wig that makes him look older, not younger. Danner, as Phoebe and Faith's mother, is limited largely by poorly written dialogue and by the fact that all of her scenes are with Brewster. Given the dramatic potential of the story, I think it could have been a better film in the hands of another writer/director, and with someone other than Brewster as the central character. As it is, Brooks has given us Brewster in an uneven, poorly-written and emotionally lacking display of moviemaking. The Invisible Circus is a waste of time.
Too bad this movie cheats with the viewers
posted on 19 Oct 2006This could have been a good movie, with some intense parts and good play. Unfortunately, it has been ruined by the script, which for all time, tricks the viewer into believing that there will be some kind of final revelation, which never happens. This is what lets the viewer down and therefore ruins the movie.If the movie was honest from the beginning, then it could have become a very humanly intense road movie, like the kind of '70s movies by Bogdanovich or Altman. But because of the stupid cheat, it only becomes a modest and failed whodunit.The acting and sceneries are good though. Worth a view - but only to regret how a better film it could have been.
it was very mysterious, but more serious. a must see one of course.
posted on 17 Oct 2006i must say that this movie had a great cast, locations, music and camera work. Cameron Diaz was great, she had a very exciting roll, very uproarish, while Jordana Brewster had a serious roll yet still capturing one. for me Jordana's very nostalgic, she reminds of a female classmate of mine! what realy got me in this movie were the very skillfully planned camera work and the choosing of the locations. the story is very talently written. it is a must see one. the one's who are into mystery movies should watch this one, i guarantee you all that it'll keep you in your seats till the end.
Another failed transference from a novel to celluloid - but this one is really bad!
posted on 08 Aug 2006The films' producers are hoping that Cameron Diaz' name will help sell this picture. Unfortunately, nothing can save what has already been captured on the screen. Despite some beautifully shot European locations and some solid production design elements, the film fails mostly due to its awkward, unbelievable romance between Brewster and Eccleston. An unplesasant filmgoing experience.
Depressing, pointless, meandering exercise.
posted on 27 Jul 2006A depressing, pointless, meandering exercise in tracing a sisters dementia.Even though the entire movie is dedicated to a herky-jerky review of her life, there is no real sense of why Cameron Diaz chooses to do the ultimate act, nor her sisters reaction.Beautiful women and scenery, decent acting, but painful to watch or enjoy.
A quest for getting answers about a sister's mysterious death
posted on 23 Jul 2006Jennifer Egan's novel was brought to the screen by Canadian director Adam Brooks in a film that, based on some comments from contributors to this forum, sounds a bad proposition, but in fact, it's much better than one is led to believe.This is a story about two sisters who loved one another dearly. Faith, the fair headed and happy-go-lucky hippie girl, takes her younger sibling, Phoebe, under her wing. Phoebe plainly loves Faith; when the older one decides to follow her boyfriend Wolf to Europe on a summer vacation from Berkley, she promises she will send Phoebe a post card every day. Faith does that, until the cards stop coming in and one night, some time later, the family receives a phone call to inform them Faith has died under tragic circumstances.Phoebe can't forget Faith. That is why after some years pass by, she decides to take the same route the older sister took. She takes the cards from Faith and visits each place, starting in Amsterdam, then moving on to Paris and she wants to end up the trip in Portugal, where Faith encountered her untimely death.In Paris, Phoebe hooks up with Wolf, who by now, is not a hippie anymore and is living with his girlfriend. Wolf, tries to persuade Phoebe into abandoning her trip and to go back home; she suspects that Wolf holds the key into solving the mystery, and as she is going to depart for Portugal she makes a discovery when she finds a picture that clearly contradicts Wolf's version he has told Phoebe. He feels guilty and, against his girlfriend's wishes, decides to accompany Phoebe to the town where Faith died. The story changes at this point and we go back in flashbacks to what Faith experienced in Europe and what happened in her final days.The best thing in "The Invisible Circus" are the performances of the principals, something that Mr. Brooks has to take the credit for. The big surprise is the range of Cameron Diaz, who, as Faith, seems to select light comedy parts, when she is quite able to do good dramatic work under the right director. Jordana Brewster is seen as the older Phoebe and makes a wonderful contribution to the film. She is a stunning beauty with what seems to be a naturalness for acting. Christopher Eccleston is Wolf and shows he also is capable of doing more serious drama. The sweet Camilla Belle plays the younger Phoebe quite convincingly. Blythe Danner appears as the mother of the girls.The European locations are gloriously photographed by Henry Braham. The film is also enhanced by the musical score of Nick Laird-Clowes and Petra Haden's original song. Elizabeth Kling edited with great elegance. Ultimately, this film shows Adam Brooks in great form as he gives the right tone to the adaptation of the novel and gets rewarded by having the right cast doing wonders for him.
A waste of talent
posted on 01 Dec 2005This film should have been much better than it was. Christopher Eccleston is an excellent actor but even he couldn't rescue this tale of a young woman searching for the truth over her sister's death. Spoiler warning : In effect the truth is that the older sister ( played by Diaz) is just a spoilt, selfish and shallow girl who took too many drugs. Not much of a twist and not that interesting either. The film is also overladen with far too many flashbacks and voice overs and lacks dramatic pacing. All in all this is definitely worth missing - not to be recommended.
So Wonderful
posted on 18 Sep 2005I loved this movie. Don't listen to those heartless males who don't get it. It was spiritual, dramatic, and everyone did an excellent job in it. I definately recommend it!!! The end is so symbolical, it was very touching. Please go see it! Ignore those males who can't admit it touched them, and GO GO GO!
It let me down real easy
posted on 03 Aug 2005The movie which I saw on video, was not exactly what I had expected. It was a lot heavier. At first I wondered "Why '1976 looking back at 1969' in 2002?", but it all made sense. This film gently allows a former hippie wannabe girl like me, let go of illusions. If there is one movie which illustrates the balance between the real world and the dream, this is it.
The invisible circus: The visible flaws
posted on 08 Jul 2005'Just watched this film last night. With a cast like Danner, Ecceleston and Diaz I'd expected something better. It is mainly the direction and lack of story development that stand out like a bruise. There are wonderful location shots of both America and Europe but what use is all this if the film itself is weak? With the story idea it could have been much more engaging. The whole love angle between Brewster and Ecceleston's character was irrelevant. The two actors hardly have any chemistry. The scene where Brewster hallucinates her sister behind the door just create unnecessary deviation. Alright, her character sniffed some coke but how did that fit in with the rest? Talking of performances, Cameron Diaz stands out. One wonders why she doesn't concentrate more on such roles rather than starring in non-funny toilet-humoured comedies. The actress proves that she can take on a serious role and is wonderful. Her scenes are worth watching and she's the only character we can sympathize with. Ecceleston, though a very good actor, his role seems to lack something. However, he and Diaz do share a good chemistry. Brewster isn't convincing at all. Blythe Danner does well in a small role. So what do we get from this film? Nice shots of Portugal, Holland, France etc, a great performance by Diaz and...that's it.
Genius. Pure genius.
posted on 22 Jun 2005I cannot for the life of me understand why the rating here for this movie is so low. This was one of the most beautiful films I have seen this year. It really struck a chord with me. I had been anticipating this film for several months and I thought to myself, there's no way it can possibly live up to the expectations I had for it...seeing as how I built it up in my head as much as I did. Well needless to say, not only did it meet my expectations but it far surpassed them. Jordana Brewster and Cameron Diaz were excellent in every way. Their acting superb by far. They were both in their element and completely natural for the roles. The locales were absolutely gorgeous. Every shot filmed was perfectly captured and fit the mood and atmosphere beautifully. I found this film very touching and took it very close to heart. I would even contemplate saying this could be one of my all time favorites. At the very least, certainly I could see it again and again.I swear I couldn't find one fault in this film. It's hard to say that about any film. I would highly recommend this one. It's touching, it's meaningful, and it says a lot about human nature and family.10 out of 10. Well done by all.
forget about it
posted on 14 Jun 2005This movie attempts many things but never really accomplishes anything, the plot time travels, meanders and weaves along without really satisfying. It left a hollow , "is that all" feeling at the end. Unless its free to air and there is nothing else on, forget about it.
Poor casting devastated this film
posted on 27 Mar 2009After watching this movie, I couldn't make up my mind if I liked or hated this film. After considerable thought, I finally decided that I *would* have liked this film a lot, if it wasn't for one thing: Jordanna Brewster. Cameron Diaz was great, as well, as Blythe Danner, and just about everyone else in the film. But then you cast Jordanna Brewster (career highlight being films like "The Faculty"), and it throws the entire film off. From her over-acting to me not believing that she could actually be related to Cameron Diaz (genetically impossible!), the film could have been great. But all the "could-haves" and "should-haves" don't make up for it. Don't pay to see this film.