Rating: 
Summary: Does anybody have MEANINGFUL sex anymore?
Review: The Invisible Circus has probably piqued your curiosity because it really does seem like it would be a great movie. It really COULD be a great movie, but it isn't. Pheobe's (Jordana Brewster) sister, Faith (Cameron Diaz), goes away one summer with her boyfriend on a trip to a whole nother country, to explore, expand, and be free. Everything was fine until the news came back that Faith had killed herself while on this trip. Phoebe's sorrow seems to never mend, and eventually, once she turns 18, she decides to follow her sisters footsteps via the postcards that Faith sent her and try and find an answer. While on this mission, she tracks down Faith's old boyfriend, Wolf (Christopher Eccleston), and begins questioning him as to any information that he may know concerning her sister, particularly her sister's final days. At first reluctant, Wolf finally gives in, going against all of the promises that he made to Faith ("Promise me that no matter what, you won't tell anyone about any of this, ESPECIALLY my mom and Pheobe." "Okay, I promise."). As with any movie whose writers can't think for themselves, the inevitable happens, and both Pheobe and Wolf blatantly throw any respect they have for Faith out the window by falling victim to a romance that doesn't even really exist between the two (the on-screen chemistry between Brewster and Eccleston is barely believable, at times an insult to the viewer), as soon after, Pheobe returns home, leaving Wolf in another country after he cheated on his current lover with her. This aspect of the movie really soured the whole for me, however, even without it, The Invisible Circus has a tendancy to turn your eyelids heavy.. you'll have a hard time being able to keep them open. Try and hold on for a climax, a solution to everything that would make the unbearable beginning and middle parts of this movie worth it, and you'll be very disappointed. For fans of Diaz, she does especially shine in this role, however, you'd better be a bigger fan of Brewster, as she is the main character in this film, and there aren't as many scenes with Diaz as you are led to believe. This movie is definitely nothing to worry about missing.
Rating:
Summary: Doomed to disappoint...
Review: The Invisible Circus must have looked great on paper. It's Jennifer Egan's successful and much-loved first novel adapted by proven screenwriter Adam Brooks (Practical Magic, Beloved, French Kiss). It had a promising variety of star wattage attached, including blockbuster darling Cameron Diaz, rising star Jordana Brewster, art house favorite Christopher Eccleston and the perenially excellent Blythe Danner. The drama moves from the coast of California to the streets of Paris to the cliffs of Portugal -- a potential visual feast of landscapes. And from a marketing standpoint, the story features a bit of everything -- family, rebellion, love, loss, guns, drugs, sex, world-travel, a 70s soundtrack, politcal intruige... even an old Volkswagen. A guaranteed hit, right?Wrong. The Invisible Circus fails, and fails miserably. The failure of this film can be blamed largely on 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 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. Though Brooks is a proven screenwriter and has even directed before (back in the 80s), whatever experience he gained in the past fails him here. He has given us the dismal Brewster in an uneven, poorly-written and emotionally lacking display of moviemaking. The Invisible Circus is a waste of time.
Rating: 
Summary: Political opportunistic voyeurism
Review: The title is totally misleading. The 1968 revolution and its aftermath in Europe. An American girl gets involved in it but cannot either go to the end of it or assume what she puts herself into, the situation that leads to a catastrophe. But the film is definitely not fair as for what that period was. It is discovered through the eyes of a younger sister who cannot really believe it and who comes back without understanding. The film proposes no deep explanation whatsoever of this period and how young people could have believed into the necessity to change the world including with bloody violence. How could that post World War II period produce this generation of believers ? How could that generation lose faith in all human values to the extreme of killing blindly in the name of the values tbey advocated just as blindly without believing in them - really. The name of the girl, Faith, is totally ironical because she has faith in a faithless belief. The title of this film is a sham because it was no circus but a real trip beyond humanity. It could have been a good film. It is a self-satisfied vision of the present younger generation on a period we do not even try to understand. Maybe « Zabriskie Point » or « More » are more to the point on the subject. This film was done too late after the events and too superficially. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
Rating: 
Summary: excellent movie
Review: this mouvie is very interessing, and cameron diaz acts as weel, she's wonderful. So buy this dvd.
Rating: 
Summary: A touching story
Review: This movie is a heartwarming story about sisters. When they are young, Faith, (Cameron Diaz) and Pheobe,(Jordana Brewster),have a lot of fun times together as a family. But when their father dies, everything seemed to change. Faith started skipping school, getting into drugs and so on. Soon, when she is 18 her and her boyfriend wolf, (Christopher Eccleston) plan a trip to Europe and try to change the world with politicians. Soon after, Faith is misteriously dead and Pheobe, when she is older, dedicates her time and money to go out and find out whar REALY happened.
Rating:
Summary: The "visible" circus
Review: This movie is based upon a novel by Jennifer Egans. The main characters are Faith (Cameron Diaz) and her boyfriend Wolf.
Faith and Wolf are ebullient to go and join student protests for a better world (late 1960's) that were taking place in Europe and from there Faith writes letters to her younger sister Phoebe.
One day there's news that Faith was found dead at the bottom of a cliff somewhere in Portugalia.
Phoebe is absolutely shocked especially when she recalled that her sister had such a lively personality and it wouldn't be like her to decide on suicide. So she goes investigating for facts and soon finds herself madly in love with Wolf - her sister's boyfriend even though he's married now to another girl! Interesting...but not that much to be honest!
Rating:
Summary: Moving
Review: This video is very moving and intense. It is the story of a girl who committed suicide in the 1960s, and her now-grown-up sister's attempt to understand what happened. It seamlessly traces and intertwines both sisters' trips through Europe, and shows how the older sister went further and further into rebellion until she reached a point she could not turn back or go on. It shows the older sister's integrity - even though she did not get caught in her crime, and faced only her own guilt, she was unable to live with herself, and saw suicide as the only way out. It shows the boyfriend's love of her, even as he tried to get her to pull back, and his attempt to understand, years later, what had happened. And it shows the sister's and mother's attempts to live with what had happened. It is a very powerful movie. Diaz shines in her role, and Ecclestein, Danner and the other minor characters are also very powerful. Brewster is a little weak - a more experienced actor could have brought a little more depth to her character, and Ecclestein's wig was horrendous.
Those two minor flaws, however, could not dim the beauty or power of this movie.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Story Told in a Wrong Way
Review: Though Cameron Diaz's name will attract you, it is actually Jordana Brewster ("The Fast and the Furious") who leads the story -- and that story itself is a good one. A young girl Phoebe (Brewster) learns that her elder sister Faith (Diaz), whom she adored and even idolized, killed herself in Portugal after she left her family to go to Europe. To seek for the truth behind her death, Phoebe too decides to follow her sister's path with "Wolf," Faith's ex-boyfriend. What will Phoebe see in the end? This touching story is accompanied with good music and cinematography. The picturesque location in Portugal and France is breathtakingly beautiful, and we have supporting cast including Blythe Danner ("Meet the Parents") and even Moritz Bleibtreu (Mani of "Run Lola Run"). However, the director handles each character in a very wrong way. As we are not given enough clues to relate to any of them, we do not just understand why Faith has to devote herself to radical political movements; we do not just know why Phoebe falls in love with "Wolf" (Eccleston) so suddenly; or most of all, why Phoebe has to chase her sister's image so desperately. In one scene in Paris Brewster"s Phoebe sees her sister's vision on a door, and Phoebe, as if haunted by the vision, slams into the panel on which she thinks she sees her sister beckoning her to "push." Probably the director intended to express Phoebe's state of mind, but we audience are simply left wondering what is going on. Jordana Brewster, usually a good actor, is not particularly to blame, I think; rather, it seems as if she herself is at a loss how to act. As a whole, "Invisible Circus' is a watchable film. Its acting is, if not memorable, not so bad, but Diaz and Eccleston sometimes look very uncomfortable in their 70 fashion. Major stars' participation in a small film is always welcome, but in this case, I just regret the lost opportunity.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Story Told in a Wrong Way
Review: Though Cameron Diaz's name will attract you, it is actually Jordana Brewster ("The Fast and the Furious") who leads the story -- and that story itself is a good one. A young girl Phoebe (Brewster) learns that her elder sister Faith (Diaz), whom she adored and even idolized, killed herself in Portugal after she left her family to go to Europe. To seek for the truth behind her death, Phoebe too decides to follow her sister's path with "Wolf," Faith's ex-boyfriend. What will Phoebe see in the end? This touching story is accompanied with good music and cinematography. The picturesque location in Portugal and France is breathtakingly beautiful, and we have supporting cast including Blythe Danner ("Meet the Parents") and even Moritz Bleibtreu (Mani of "Run Lola Run"). However, the director handles each character in a very wrong way. As we are not given enough clues to relate to any of them, we do not just understand why Faith has to devote herself to radical political movements; we do not just know why Phoebe falls in love with "Wolf" (Eccleston) so suddenly; or most of all, why Phoebe has to chase her sister's image so desperately. In one scene in Paris Brewster"s Phoebe sees her sister's vision on a door, and Phoebe, as if haunted by the vision, slams into the panel on which she thinks she sees her sister beckoning her to "push." Probably the director intended to express Phoebe's state of mind, but we audience are simply left wondering what is going on. Jordana Brewster, usually a good actor, is not particularly to blame, I think; rather, it seems as if she herself is at a loss how to act. As a whole, "Invisible Circus' is a watchable film. Its acting is, if not memorable, not so bad, but Diaz and Eccleston sometimes look very uncomfortable in their 70 fashion. Major stars' participation in a small film is always welcome, but in this case, I just regret the lost opportunity.
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