Carny

The romance of running away to the fair has always had a flipside.

As well as that alluring mythology around the bright lights and anchorless life, the carnival has a darker, dangerous image and its workers face considerable prejudice. As one man says in this touching and intimate look at the characters who make the merry-go-round go round: 'Some people think that Carnies are scum.'

The reasons for this negative perception are dealt with early on in the film. Long-serving Carny folk in a huge fair in North Carolina explain that many of the people that join them are on the run from the law - or other problems - and most are eternal drifters.

Ray is one of the exceptions to the rule. He has 'spent the last 20 years in a tub of water' as a bad-mouthing ducking stool clown, making his living by insulting people who are trying to land him in cold water by throwing balls at a target.

Like many of the fascinating figures in this film, Ray starts to take on tragic proportions as time goes on. Practical necessities, especially the illness of his wife, force him to wipe off his make-up and get a job in the corporate world away from the carnival.

He starts to earn more money, gets a house and many of the things most people desire, but his heart is broken. The combination of humour and heartfelt sadness in a scene where Ray revisits his old haunt and tries to knock his replacement from the stool is deeply poignant.

Equally compelling is the story of David, a ride operator who says that instead of keeping a diary he keeps tattoos, marking the various misfortunes and calamities in his life in permanent ink on his wiry body.

Intriguingly, David lives in a 'menage a trois' with two women, a tricky situation that becomes more and more complex as the film rolls on, adding an unusually gritty soap opera flavour to an already potent cocktail of loss.

Especially sad in this regard is the young lesbian popcorn store operator who loves the fair because she says: '... here I never feel like the strangest one'. The film gradually reveals how she is unable to escape the problems of her abusive childhood and that her yearning for love remains unrequited.

This wistful viewing experience is sweetened by the growing realisation that the fair does provide the family so many of the Carny folk need - even if it's a dysfunctional one.