L'Illusionniste (The Illusionist) is an animated film based on a lost script by the great French actor and director Jacques Tati. I have to own up to the fact that I am aware of Tati only by his reputation. I have never seen any of his work. The fact that I have never seen Mon Oncle (My Uncle) and Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (Mr. Hulot's Holiday) just goes to highlight the deficiency in my knowledge of foreign language films. Both of these films along with Tati's other work have been on my "Must See" list for a long time and I need to screen them soon.
I am aware that Tati wrote the story as an homage, or way to connect with his estranged daughter. I do not know if she ever saw the script, but the movie itself makes no bones about the difficulty of relationships. From beginning to end the film is a sad, melancholy film.
The movie is about an old man, Tatischeff, who is an illusionist. Times have changed and he has lost his audience. He journeys from France to Scotland, where he performs in a pub and meets a young lady who believes he is a real magician. They travel to Edinburgh together where he performs at a music hall. He works hard to keep up the illusion that he is a real magician. But hard times continue and the film ends on a bittersweet note.
The imagery is beautiful, almost poetic. Their is a gracefulness about the main character that shows in his nightly performances of flawless magic tricks. The film has very little dialogue and relies on the animation and music to set the mood and tell the story. At moments the movie looks like water color paintings come to life.
The Illusionist was directed by Slyvain Chomet, who directed The Triplets of Belleville and he handles the material with a sophistication that ranks it up their with the best work of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.
The Illusionist has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Film along with Toy Story 3 and How To Train Your Dragon. It will not win; the Oscar will go to Toy Story 3, but hopefully the nomination will encourage more people to seek out this funny, whimsical, sad, beautiful movie and experience animated film in a whole new way.
At The Movie House rating **** stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment