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| The Illusionist |
Adapted from a screenplay by the legend that is Jacques Tati, L’Illusionniste is a charming and touching film from Oscar nominated director Sylvain Chomet. It is the end of the 1950s as we meet an ageing magician who’s trying to find an audience for his outdated act, only to be upstaged by TV shows and rock ‘n’ roll bands.
After a string of flop shows to empty audiences, the Illusionist travels further afield in order to make a living, and finds himself in an old-fashioned Scottish town minutes before they get electricity. Mere moments after his act, he is, figuratively, outshone by a light bulb and the introduction of a jukebox assures him that even this backward corner of Scotland has been modernised far beyond his demographic. However, one young girl from the village is enchanted by his tricks and believes him to be truly magical. She follows him to Edinburgh and becomes his ward, forcing him to go to extraordinary lengths to maintain the illusion of his gift.
This screenplay was originally written in the 1950s by Jaques Tati, a writer, director and actor who’s individual style mixes sparse dialogue with stunning visuals. The main character Taticheff is clearly a caricature of Tati himself, and this is confirmed when the magician visits a cinema and is confronted by his live action self, on screen in Mon Oncle. The film is full of such imaginative moments that really give justice to the old fashioned hand drawn animation. Tati intended that the script be filmed in live action, but the decision to produce an animated feature was defiantly the right one. The animation is so painfully charming, but somehow melancholy; it suits the story perfectly.
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| The Illusionist |
This is certainly a simple story well told that dismisses tired dialogue and relies entirely on expression and emotion. The setting and atmosphere play a big part in this, almost to the extent that the illustration steals the show. Keep an eye out for background gags and recognisable locations. The PG rating may trick you into thinking this is a kid’s film, and although children will enjoy the visual humour and laugh hysterically at the disobedient magician’s rabbit - the lad next to me spat popcorn into my bag - there are emotions and nostalgia that are entirely adult. Seeing the ventriloquist pawn his dummy and sit in the pub talking to his hand? Massive downer.
For the more mature viewer, behind the slapstick gags and beautiful scenery, the overall message is a bittersweet one; the world is moving quickly and we are all moving towards exciting and unimaginable things, but the magic of yesteryear is disappearing. This strikes a modern chord as a hand drawn feature, and pulled the heartstrings of this particular movie fan, as I weep regularly over the demise of beautiful hand drawn storytelling to the grotesque powerhouse of *shudder* 3D computer animation. When I have kids and they ask me to take them to see the latest 3D adventure where a cowboy and an astronaut have to go find a fish who’s turned into an ogre voiced by Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, I shall take a deep breath and sit them in a dark room and show them this film. I advise you to do the same.
Official The Illusionist website
The Illusionist will be shown at The Broadway Cinema on Thursday 9th June 2011 as part of the NEAT11 Festival.
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