Blu-ray: Thamp̄ (The Circus Tent) | reviews, news & interviews
Blu-ray: Thamp̄ (The Circus Tent)
Blu-ray: Thamp̄ (The Circus Tent)
Engrossing semi-documentary following a circus in rural India
![](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/mast_image_landscape/public/mastimages/Thamp%2032.jpg?itok=0PQ6wZJt)
There are scores of films set in and around circuses. Aravindan Govindan’s bewitching Thamp̄ (The Circus Tent) isn’t like any of them, though I was fleetingly reminded of Jacques Tati’s largely plotless Jour de fête – which also opens and closes with a big top being assembled then dismantled in a small rural community.
Thamp̄ isn’t a comedy. Categorising the film is difficult. It looks like a documentary shot on the hoof, and Govindan is credited as screenwriter, but in a later interview he claimed that “we didn’t have a script and we shot the incidents as they happened.” So, Thamp̄ begins with the circus lorries trundling along rural roads in the Indian state of Kerala, the assorted members of the Great Chitra Circus bouncing around like cattle. Arriving in the village of Thirunavaya, the tent is erected in preparation for a three-day stint. Publicity posters and placards are handwritten, the performers parading through dusty streets accompanied by ear-splitting music. Shot in black and white, Thamp̄ looks exquisite, and distributor Second Run’s booklet containing a detailed account of the film’s lengthy restoration process.
Learning that the film was released in 1978 is surprising, and there’s a continual sense that we’re looking at a culture and way of life which haven’t changed in decades. Still, glimpses of the suit-wearing bosses at a local tile factory suggest that the circus performers’ way of life is on its way out, though it may take a while; it’s hard not to smile when a journalist watching a performance makes notes in pencil on the most distressed-looking notebook imaginable. Govindan’s sympathies are clearly with the acrobats, dancers, jugglers and clowns, whose lives look considerably more interesting than those of the nouveau riche glimpsed in a pristine new house.
The circus acts are fun to watch, though it’s hard not to wince when a goat and monkey (separately) are made to walk the tightrope and a leopard is whipped into submission. Especially good are the three acrobatic cyclists, and there’s some genuinely funny slapstick. Govindan turns his camera on the faces of those in the audience watching the circus performance for the first time, their expressions showing, variously, fear, bafflement, delight and joy. And, after three nights of offering “miraculous and terrifying feats”, the circus packs up and leaves. Two cast members get the chance to speak candidly to Govindan’s camera, an ageing comic lamenting that being a clown involves “dying every day”, while a dancer describes how tired she feels after 44 years on the road.
Though slow-paced and lasting over two hours, Thamp̄ is enthralling, and this newly restored print gleams. Extras include interviews with the director’s son, talking about his father’s career, and a discussion filmed at the 2022 Cannes Festival featuring archivist and filmmaker Shivendra Singh Dingarpur and one of the original cast.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more Film
![Sister act: Bianca Delbravo, Dilvin Asaad, and Safira Mossberg in 'Paradise Is Burning'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Main%20pic%20PisBurning.jpeg?itok=M-QpAFJr)
![Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin in 'Sing Sing'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Sing%201.jpeg?itok=FzGLffp-)
![Caught on the woof: Eddie Peng and best friend in Guan Hu’s tale of provincial struggle](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Black%20Dog%20pic.jpeg?itok=4flF1pOd)
![David Morrissey: 'When I discovered my drama group at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, that saved my life'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Morrissey%20MAIN.jpg?itok=tsYiugwk)
![Gael force: Kneecap's Liam Óg, JJ Ó Dochartaigh, and Naoise Ó Caireállain](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/three%20shot%20Kneecap.jpeg?itok=wbu8VQio)
![The night they invented champagne: Barbe (Haley Bennett) concocts her latest vintage](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Barb%20MAIN.jpg?itok=7HfioYC9)
![This is reception: Hunter Schafer in 'Cuckoo'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/CUCKOO-Still-1-Credit-Felix-Dickinson-Courtesy-of-NEON.jpg?itok=9T-JMH2b)
![Losing his way. Zhu Yilong in 'Only the River Flows'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Only-The-River-Flows1.jpg?itok=Xe75y-DM)
![Alienated youth: Rain (Cailee Spaeny) takes on the mantle of Ripley, with David Jonsson as 'synthetic' Andy](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Spaeyny%20and%20Jonsson.jpeg?itok=At6et-4p)
![A glimpse of the director, with Mawlawi Mansour at right](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Hollywoodgate%203.jpg?itok=sUZKpWKk)
![Richard Chamberlain and Glenda Jackson tie the knot in 'The Music Lovers'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/5009250_THE%20MUSIC%20LOVERS_A%20BFI%20BLU-RAY%20RELEASE%20Image%20courtesy%20MGM%20%26%20Park%20Circus.jpg?itok=hV9gAlOE)
![Father knows worst: Josh Hartnett and Ariel Donaghue in 'Trap'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/TRAP.jpg.jpg?itok=_wrN_N8v)
Add comment