Synopsis
The Clowns (I Clowns, 1970), directed by Federico Fellini, is a TV docu-fiction you can watch online on iFILM. It opens on a memory: a circus tent rises on the lot near a boy's house, and the spectacle scares him more than it makes him laugh.
From there Fellini turns the camera on himself. He gathers a crew and travels from Italy to Paris, hunting down the last of Europe's great clowns while a few are still alive. Two ancient masks recur — the imperious White Clown and the clumsy, browbeaten Auguste. Along the way he wanders onto a circus floor where Anita Ekberg haggles over a panther, and he sits with retired performers who outlived their own art.
Half reportage, half slapstick, the film smashes props, sets the ring on fire and rolls on the floor, then quietly mourns a craft that is vanishing. There is no plot in the usual sense, just a love letter to the circus of Fellini's childhood. Best for viewers who already love the maker of Amarcord and don't mind a film where the gags double as a funeral. Watch The Clowns (1970) online on iFILM.
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