Review

Review Date: 6-February-11
Spoiler Rating: High
Juju Judgment: Juicy

The Illusionist (2010)

The original script for The Illusionist was written in the 1950s by celebrated French filmmaker Jacques Tati. Perhaps the long stretch between its conception and execution was fortuitous, because the story feels perfectly suited to the style of present-day Frenchman and animation specialist Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville). The movie features luscious, liquid renditions of a remote Scottish island and the city of Edinburgh which dazzle in a way that only unreality can. Combined with Chomet's nonverbal mode of storytelling, these backdrops make ideal settings for Tati's poignant fairy tale.

The Illusionist is rather like Cinderella from the point of view of the fairy godmother, except he's a fairy godfather and a strange one at that. As the title reveals, he is a magician, an entertainer who pulls coins from people's ears and nosegays from thin air. Unfortunately, he has outlasted the popularity of his craft. Gigs are hard to find in the age of nascent television and rock 'n' roll, so the illusionist travels from one unpacked venue to another with little more than an optimistic poster and a surly rabbit to his name.

In a tiny Scottish village where his act succeeds the ceilidh dancing, the illusionist inadvertently enchants a young barmaid. Regarding him as a true wizard, she follows him when he returns to civilization, and he adopts her, or at least doesn't tell her to go away. Never mind that she speaks Gaelic and he French; since Chomet doesn't rely on dialogue, this poses little problem for them or for us, their rapt audience. In bustling Edinburgh, so beautifully rendered, the girl gazes at shop wares and sophisticated women unlike anything she has ever seen. Her new guardian feels compelled to indulge her, even seeking a second job when his magic show fails to generate enough money. They maintain their tenderly screwball relationship until the inevitable occurs and he returns to the Continent while she continues her journey of discovery.

Following the visual impact of the animation and the humor around the magician's job woes and vaudevillian colleagues, the ending of The Illusionist is surprisingly touching. The title character's parting words to his daughter-figure are that magicians do not exist, but we who have watched their story know that he is wrong. What else besides magic could explain how the girl's horizons expanded so suddenly, how she went from scrubbing floors on the shore of nowhere to happiness and love in the wide world? The illusionist may not have riches to show for it, but this sweet fable proves that he (like Chomet) has worked wonders.

Copyright © 2011 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.