Title: The Illusionist (2011)
Director: Sylvain Chomet
Starring: Jean-Claude Donda (voice), Eilidh Rankin (voice)
Oscar nominee, “The Illusionist,” is a delightfully somber 80 minutes. It may be the saddest story seen in the last six months. And FYI, this guy has seen “Blue Valentine,” “Biutiful” and “Another Year.” The old-school hand drawn animation was the perfect platform for this tale. Using modern CGI and/or live performers would have completely missed the intended tone this flick was shooting for.
Our story is simple. Set in the time of the late ‘50 and early 60’s in Europe, a traveling stage performer – a magician – is always on the move looking for the next gig. He lives in and out of hotels (more like hostels), carrying just his suitcase full of tricks. We can’t be sure, but at one time, the magician and like-minded stage performers, used to be a big draw. The story picks up on the back-end of our lead’s career, where age has set in and the motivation to keep pressing on has become a way of survival rather than a passion. As he ventures through half-empty music halls and local pubs, the magician is being stalked by an impressionable and comparatively young fan in Alice.
Alice can be described as Cinderella. She spends her days scrubbing the pub floor and goes unnoticed by most. Even our lonely magician – whose only companion is his trick rabbit – pays little attention to her. That is until she follows him around, leading him to embrace her company. With this budding friendship, the magician begins to get a spark and wants to better his and Alice’s life. However, his insecurity about what he has become, weighs heavily on his mind. Alice truly believes he can perform magic and the guy is aware of this. So he tortures himself trying to keep her happy as he sees fit, to avoid losing her. By doing so, Alice starts to adopt a new outlook on life and falls in love with the new world she has discovered. Which may or may not include our tired magician.
If you haven’t noticed, the people who voiced the characters were not credited next to their respective name. That’s because there is barely any dialogue kids. Perhaps 25-30 words were uttered the entire 80 minutes. And I do mean words, for not one sentence is ever formed. In this case, the dialogue sounds similar to baby talk. Aside from a version of “Hello” or “Thank you” one will not be able to make out what is being vocalized. With that said, the saying of, “A picture is worth a 1000 words” has never rang more true. The audience will know every emotion the characters are feeling just from the set designs surrounding them. Subtle signs are littered through every scene as one follows the magician around the towns of Europe. Which is an eye-opening journey all should take.
In a recent column authored by yours truly, it stated that just because it is a happy ending, doesn’t make a good one. A typical barrier mainstream writers have to deal with. In this flick, the ending is so satisfying it hurts. Going against the grain was a stroke of genius by writer/director Sylvain Chomet. His screenplay kept pulling you in deeper with the magician’s current lifestyle, and even when the credits roll, it will be a challenge to leave that state-of-mind. Only knock about this story is what exactly Chomet is trying to depict. Is it pity party or a historical portrayal on what happened to a certain group of people. Maybe that’s the angle…Having the audience relate to this from multiple perspectives.
Overall, “The Illusionist” is a masterful performance that will penetrate your soul. Its honest approach will not evoke the spirited reaction one is hoping for as the story unfolds. Yet it will painfully touch your heart.
RATING: 4.5 out of 5
Review by Joe Belcastro
