There’s a striking sequence, right at the end of this handsome documentary about the new breed of circus acrobats. It’s a montage of exquisitely lit impossible feats of strength and balance, set to the second movement of Beethoven’s 7th. Dangling from ropes; spinning in giant hoops; catapulted skyward, these are performers with a staggering physical eloquence. Inevitably perhaps, when they start to talk about their art, it’s something of a let down. You rather wish Alcala had let the bodies – with their steel cable knots of muscles, their precisely judged flirtations with gravity, the attrition of injuries – speak for themselves. The film also lacks a satisfying arc. We are introduced to a clutch of performers at the start of their careers, but there are too many characters to feel that we are witnessing much of a journey or a growth in skill. Still, the cinematography is arresting and the acrobats are a ridiculously photogenic bunch.
