A young woman is entranced by an Aerialist. When they fall into the dreamlike world of Cirque du Soleil and are separated, they travel through the different tent worlds trying to find each other.
The athleticism of a contortionist in a large martini glass, or human-powered hamster wheels suspended in mid-air, is flat-out astonishing but the film doesn’t convey a sense of danger to Cirque’s trapeze ballets and you’ll struggle to find any sort of narrative logic to the Mexican wrestlers bouncing to Elvis numbers.
Stick around. The music gets better, with a heavy sprinkling of Beatles songs, and the swoops and tumbles become progressively more thrilling.
Even in 3D, it's a ponderous, synthetic and weirdly affectless experience.
The female lead only says one word during Worlds Away: "Help". I know exactly how she feels.
It's solemn, tasteless, overdressed, a circus smelling of Chanel No 5 rather than sweat and sawdust.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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