El clown

“El Clown,” Emilio Rodriguez and Pedro Adorno’s tale of a circus clown’s rise to stardom as a pitchman, tracks the erosion of creativity through corporate branding with a healthy dose of absurdism. Pic’s sly portrait of the artist as a conflicted clown is rich in the meticulous craftsmanship it celebrates, its consummate slapstick deflating any overwrought Pagliacci operatics or facile art-vs.-commerce preciousness. Intelligent crowd-pleaser reps a rousing triumph for the burgeoning Puerto Rican film industry and, with savvy handling, could conjure a niche for itself under the indie big top. —Variety