Rating: 
Summary: wonderful beautiful sensitive
Review: better because of lovely story more acts by all but beautiful Had to watch again to get all teh nuances
Rating: 
Summary: don't be fooled
Review: Fans of Cirque du Soleil must be warned that this is NOT a video of an actual performance. Indeed, it has almost no actual Cirque performance. It is a story "inspired" by the Cirque show Alegria, whatever that means, but it is NOT the show itself. It is, in fact, a very dark, depressing story that is far off from the uplifting experience of an actual Cirque performance.
Rating: 
Summary: Neither Allegory nor Alegria
Review: The breathtaking imagery and vibrant characters of Alegria the live show are abandoned by its director, Franco Dragone, who misguidedly reinvents it from the ground up for this movie. The result is NOT Alegria (only tantalising, tiny glimpses of the live experience are seen). Instead a clumsy "story" is grafted on to its delicate artistry, set in an unconvincing "real" world which blurs rather than expands the boundaries of Cirque Du Soleil. By introducing new characters far less compelling than the original stage stars (what must they have made of this betrayal?), Dragone seems to have decided to "explain" Alegria's purpose. This is like explaining a joke - the result falls flat, its poetry and clarity of purpose are muddied - or worse, articulated by characters not so much conversing as making speeches to each other. Thus the skills of a mime of genius like Rene Bazinet are fatally compromised. One of the strengths of the show Alegria was that its language was that of athletic and balletic grace, equisite mime and haunting music. There was no dialogue, which freed it from political boundaries. This is why the show was a huge international hit and this movie was not. Here the engaging grotesques are firmly separated from ourselves, the audience. The twilight magical world we thought they occupied is revealed to be the cheap side of town. They speak dialogue with little wit or poetry. There is a half hearted attempt to design a skewed reality outside the Big Top but the magic is overwhelmed by a welter of bad ideas and sugary emotion and lovers of Alegria the show are underwhelmed as a result. Truly this should not have been released under the same title.
Rating:
Summary: Circus Magic Allegria
Review: I bought this as a gift to my girlfriend for christmas (2000) and we BOTH fell in love with it. For those of you wish to protect yourselves & or your children from a story of imagination, love, wit, charm,innocense, humanity, self discovery, hope, music, magic & bravery, set in a world with no particular time reference, which is NOT IMPORTANT at all, then don't watch it.Stick to your to your Barney the Dinosaur videos in the comfort of your bubblegum scented reality-proof bomb shelters. I love this movie for all the reasons I listed above, I found it to be a wonderful exploration & discovery of the many faces & consequences of life & love between friends, a man and a woman, & a father & his child. And best of all in the end there is no moral preaching...only a simple philosphy. ALL the CAST did an EXECELLENT JOB in their performances, it was great to see Frank Langella play an emotional parental role, instead of some cheesey villian in some american b-movie. Rene, Julie & Clipper did an wonderful job of painting their characters with all the textures of life a person can & will experience...regardless of the age factor.
Rating: 
Summary: Sadly, somewhat of a disappointment
Review: I must admit I'm a Cirque-freak, and was more than mildly disappointed when I viewed this film. I wanted a video of the live performances I saw but on film. And it could have been done intertwined in this film, if only the something-thats-sadly-lacking had been provided. I found myself throughout WANTING to like the film, but being unsatisfied. Sort of like eating cotton candy, maybe. There are parts that just go on and on and on, being what? Cirque-ish? And once you get the point, it still goes on and on and on and on. They shouldn't have called it "Alegria," but something else, so that those familiar with Cirque wouldn't have been tripped. And what was really sad, was that this wasn't all that original and imaginative--two keystones of the Cirque. Hey! Have you ever heard of Fagin and Oliver Twist? And even that French film recently about them lost kids, whatever that one was called. I guess the Cirque folks were trying to ice the cake or gild the lily. However, with this film, we don't ever get to see the cake or the lily!
Rating:
Summary: A reminder of love and guts.
Review: You could cut up any scene in this movie and make a poster of pure magic. I haven't seen the stage show so I am not going to compare this with it. The combination of art, colour, mime and performing skills of the people involved in this is beyond articulation. It really is something that everybody should sit down and watch when life gets a bit dull and mechanical. Great music and something I'll be showing my daughter when she gets a bit older. I think the previous negative comments are rather misleading and possibly based upon the super-fantastic memories of the live performance, which one day I hope to experience: buy it and live!
Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: We had a number of people over to see this DVD. Everyone loved the love story. Yes, it is not the stage show and we knew it. I think most people don't understand it. I saw one person comment that they were shocked and but that they loved the stage show Alegria. I guess they forget the homeless clown committed suicide in the stage show. Most people clapped - we were moved (shocked) by what happened.
Rating:
Summary: Alegria is Allegory
Review: The movie captured my heart and mind. The soul of the musicand the film can be enjoyed at many different levels. The maincharacters represent themselves at face value and, if you choose, the more subtle and significant characters of the adult, parent and child. This movie best exemplifies Cirque's creative abilities to take themselves and the viewer to a higher level of an emerging art form.
Rating:
Summary: Cinema pour les enfants
Review: Boring Cirque Du Soleil melodrama.Good for kids.Good for Cirque Du Soleil fans who love anything that this talented group of people makes.The plot is predictable and the usual Cirque stunning performances are almost totally absent.Some of the usual Cirque flair,magic and romanticism is momentaruly glimpsed here and there but not nearly enough to make Alegria a worthwhile buy.I own Quidam on DVD and Alegria was a big disappointment.I often revisit Quidam, but Alegria gets a big fat zero for replay value.
Rating:
Summary: Circus of Psychology
Review: How could anyone expect what "Alegria" delivers...a haunting invitation to look at the role that separation and individuation play in our lives. Helpful and painful for anyone who feels like they've lost "themselves" during the psychological birth of a dependant. What bravery to even approach this topic. Bravo!
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