The Illusionist (Sylvain Chomet, 2010): UK, France

Reviewed by Brittany Christianson. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival 2011.

The Illusionist directed by Sylvain Chomet (also from La vieille dame et les pigeons: 1998) , is a wonderful animation that tells the story of magician on the search for bigger and better things.  This film has very little dialogue, but tells a wonderful story about the old time magician not being able to find work with all the new and upcoming rock and roll singers and performers.  Most people can’t get away with making a movie with nearly no speaking and still get the point across, but Chomet executed it flawlessly.  I have seen a couple of Chomet’s other films all of which are animations and they all tend to have the same story line, but they work.

We follow the life of the Illusionist (Jean-Claude Donda) and see how he struggles with making money to survive.  On his journey he come across a small isolated town and meets a young girl, Alice (Eilidh Rankin).  Alice is amazed by his wonderful old tricks and follows him back to his hometown.  There she lives with him and they become friends.  Their relationship is a little unorthodox; it seems to me that they have a bond like father-daughter.  He takes care of her and buys her all the things she could never afford.  In fact the script for this movie was intended to be a love letter from a father (Jacques Tati: The School for Postmen 1947) to his daughter, but never was produced.  The film continues to follow the life of these two until they split and go their separate ways.  Alice finds love and The Illusionist realizes it is time to give up the old magic tricks.

The real credit goes to the music department.  When a movie has very little dialogue, we naturally rely on the music to control our emotions.   Special thanks must go out to Terry Davies the conductor, orchestrator, and music producer of this film.  The silence of this film rally allows the viewer to watch the movie and let their minds travel.  You gain information and feel what the characters feel, through the music.

Although this is an unconventional film to play at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, it was wonderful. I would recommend this movie to people who have creative imaginations, it really brings out your inner most thoughts.  This film was very much like The Illusionist 2006 version, directed by Neil Burger.  However in the 2006 version, love is found with the princess and his main goal is to be with her.  The movie leaves you wondering what is real and what is reality.  If you watch the version directed by Chomet first, it really allows you to explore your imagination.

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Published:
02.15.11 / 10pm
Category:
Films, Santa Barbara Film Festival 2011