I Dug It.

Circus (1936)
First are foremost, let me say i thought Circus was an incredible movie. It had a sense of humor that anyone could appreciate: Russian or American, young or old. I, personally, love that 1920/30ish glamour that we can find in Marliyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn in America. I also love the chemistry between Rayka and Ladechkin. He loved the ladies, and she always had a way of dealing with him that was so entertaining. Finally, I loved the use of the animals in this comedy. Animals on their own are something that makes people happy, and having them doing humorous things is only a plus.
As for the movie, some things i noticed were the very blatant Soviet messages. It wasn't something you had to search for it was right there. I thought it was clever how the director had Marion Dixon always say "I no understand." At first you were like, 'ok clearly everyone needs to stop trying to talk to her in Russian because shes not getting it.' Then at the end, it was oh now do you understand Russia is the place to be, and she said "I understand now." Also, clearly the movie was pro- Soviet Union. It dreadful how she was treated in the US about her illigitmate mullato child. She was fearful that the Russians would feel the same way about it; however, they were all very accepting saying, "We love all children, black, white, red etc." It was very clear what the message was, and they did a great job portraying it.
Moreover, i thought the movie had some subtle messages too (or maybe i picked up on something that wasn't there). First, i recall a time when she was looking at two pictures; one of Martynov and one of Kneishitz and she took her wig off but only half way. This stuck out because the blonde side was with Martynov and the brunette hair was on Kneishitz side. This was only further supports my views because it seemed as the movie went on Marion lost more and more of the darkness. She stopped wearing her wig, and in the end scene she was wearing a very bright white outfit along with all the other Russian. I think this was significant.
Finally, i think what was prevalent in both Chapaev and this film was the romantic element. Both movies had that couple that you rooted for. I also thought that at first Martynov didn't think very highly of Marion because she wanted to get paid in US dollars. Then he started to fall for her, and in the end she agreed to work for rubles (sp?). I feel like this was a little socialist realism because it was her transformation to more of a working class. I also think how the movie was kind of racist was social realism. It was putting the problem out there without showing any mercy, or passion which allows people to see the real problem and not beat around the bush. Although, when Ladechkin tried to wipe the babies face off i felt like that was a comical way of dealing with a sensitive issue which was awesome.
All in all, this movie was very entertaining and I loved it!