Invisible Circus, The MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +1 Content: -3

In the summer of 1969, Faith (Cameron Diaz) took off for Europe and never returned. Now, seven years later, her younger sister Phoebe (Jordana Brewster) decides to make the same trek, hoping to discover what led to her beloved sisters apparent suicide. Armed with a few postcards from Faith as her guide and a backpack, she too leaves for Europe on a journey that will change her forever. In Paris, she meets Faiths old flame, Wolf (Christopher Eccleston), who shares his memories of his days with Faith. Not only do these stories help Phoebe on her mission, but also opens the way for a budding romance with Wolf. As they travel together in Portugal, Phoebe learns some surprising secrets about her sister. THE INVISIBLE CIRCUS never builds the tension to move beyond a rather dull couple of hours. Diaz, seen in flashbacks, and Eccleston do a fine job with their roles, but the film is likely to have a short box office run.

Phoebe refers to Faith by name so often that it comes across like some kind of double meaning and, therefore, a message about the concept of faith. However, no explicit reference to spiritual faith comes out, leaving the audience confused about any spiritual meaning. A dozen f-words and a few regular profanities litter the dialogue. Scenes of implied and graphic sex with nudity provide further objections. Phoebe hallucinates about Faith after taking LSD. In flashbacks, Faith joins some radical political activist groups that use violent methods to make their points. However, she later realizes that violent opposition is wrong and feels guilty about her actions. Basically a coming of age search for answers story, explicit sex, foul language and drug use provide no reason to look for THE INVISIBLE CIRCUS.

Preview Reviewer: John Adair
Distributor: Fine Line Features, 888 7th Ave., 20th Floor, NY, NY 10106