A Thousand Clowns

Joel Haver5.0

I had never heard of this and went to a 35mm film screening completely blind, and it might just be one of the greatest movies I’ve ever seen. Full of laughs and truth in equal measure.It’s a film not just about the pitfalls of conformity, but the expectations of conformity and those who are immune to those expectations. Some people aren’t cut out for this world and that wouldn’t be a problem if there was another one for them to live on. Ideally one that’s more compassionate, more free and most of all more fun. We should all be so lucky to have someone to show us what makes us special, before it is taken away.I recommend everyone watch this, it’s criminally forgotten by time and shouldn’t be.

Sam3.5

Shots of New York scenery illustrate the simplicity and breezy expression that individualism is often more present in a city than elsewhere. Within that city, there are thousands of clowns, seeming crazy to the outer world and those who don’t comprehend the concept of urban life. Everyone is part of a circus, performs their own separate acts and becomes part of a community in the sense that, togetherness can be perceived differently than simply being socially inclined. No matter how theatrical, awkward, unnatural or overly humorous certain moments are, this is a beautiful showcase of the witty and hip quirks that cement 1960s independent cinema as its own wacky character.

pirateneckbeard4.0

This feels like a fairy tale for adults. There is such a great paradigm shift in our two main leads that give the story a solid narrative tension but it does flood a lot of other character arcs that interject with some smart dialogue treatment that poke holes in our main characters demeanor and not that this movie is about a loss it really feels about a grounding of what you want to hold on to. This clearly based on a play and the acting is very sharp with moments of conversation that feels so candid that rips you to shreds and is laughable at times with it's obscurity. God bless Irving R Feldmen's holiday.