Circus Boys (1989)

Kaizo Hayashi's second feature, Circus Boys, plays as something of a companion piece to his first work To Sleep so as to Dream. Again, the story takes place in a black and white expressionist dreamland. It follows two brothers (Jinta and Wataru) who grow up as orphans in a traveling circus. When Jinta is injured saving his brother from a fall, and their dream of walking the tightrope together shatters, he leaves the circus and wanders the countryside as a con-man. Out of the films by Hayashi I have seen so far, this is definitely the weakest. The plot is very scattered and episodic and lacks the engaging storytelling that made his other films so enjoyable. There is also a disconnect between the film's more dreamlike and fantastical portions and the down-to-earth drama. It is at its best when Hayashi is scaling the heights of cinematic magic and possibility. His vision of the near, yet far gone past is as intoxicating here as it was in its predecessor, and it is so obvious that he poured so much passion and feeling into this film that it does rub off on the viewer. After this movie Hayashi moved into the realm of postmodern crime thrillers and action flicks that made him famous, but I have to wonder if he has made anything like his first two movies since. I hope so.