Cast
Cast

This is a story about the eternal miracle of life and death. The unfortunate death of a wild hare turns into a remarkable experience for children who find his body and bury it in a sand box. Now buried, the hare’s life fades away and dozens of magical creatures that lived inside him leave his body in search for a new home. The hare’s life ends by merging with nature, but is reborn in the plants and animals around it. This fairy-tale for children encourages us to think about what death is.

In the vestibule of a hospital room, a young boy waits to see his dying mother. The clamor and spiralling movements of bodies around him intensify, forming a grotesque circus—a cacophonous circle that pushes the child back, depriving him of one final touch of his mother's hand. Using rotoscoped drawings suggestive of charcoal sketches, as well as 3D and object animation techniques, The Circus compels viewing with its unsettling realism. Colour is employed metaphorically to subtly express the promise and the memory of maternal affection. Nicolas Brault's highly personal film, suffused with poetic modesty, casts a poignantly sincere gaze on the heartbreak of a child facing the fearful, mysterious experience of his mother's death.