Viewed in
2012
Formats
HDTV
Premise
An aging French magician travels to Scotland for a job, where he befriends a young lady.
Loved
Theme of passage of time.
Liked
Characters.
Disliked
Monotonous master shots.
Thoughts
A very sweet and somber little film.
From the director of The Triplets of Belleville, there were definitely a lot of similarities. While the hyper animation style was toned down, it was still full of music, fake dialog, and colorful minor characters.
The two leads were likable, especially the young lady who had never set foot outside of her town. But for me, the themes of the passage of time was what truly gave the film heart and character. There were scenes that were flat out heartbreaking or insightful that, the older we get, the more we relate to.
The biggest flaw was that it was entirely comprised of master shots. While there was tons of detail in these shots, it was difficult to see the characters' facial expressions during key moments.
While Belleville had more memorable music and characters, I still recommend The Illusionist for to its tender, bittersweet story.
Note 1: I had no idea this was based on a real magician Jacques Tati. Not that I even know who he was.
Note 2: DirecTV's synopsis was incorrect, stating the plot was about a magician and a boy.
