Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The Illusionist (2010)

This is topic The Illusionist (2010) in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 02-09-2011, 12:32 PM:

Not to be confused with The Illusionist from 2006.

At the end of the vaudeville era, a down-on-his-luck magician travels thru Great Britain looking for work, accompanied by his uncooperative rabbit and an adoring young girl.

Based on an unproduced screenplay by Jacques Tati (who made the perennial 70mm classic Playtime), this is the third Oscar nominated film in the animation category, and even though it has no chance whatsoever against the Pixar machine I think it should win. Every frame in this picture is a small masterpiece, with the kind of color, motion and soul that I haven’t yet seen in any other recent animated movie. The animators have Tati’s mannerisms and vocal tics nailed as well, and the moment when the character walks into a cinema and sees his live-action self on the screen (in a scene from Mon Oncle, complete with an animated gate hair) is truly a great experience for his fans and movie lovers in general. Be warned, though, that while there are some very funny scenes the story as a whole is quite emotional and sad, dealing as it does with the end of an era and the fates of those left behind.

If you love animation, see it. Hang around during the credits for a great Easter egg afterward.