Review of The Illusionist (1901) by Jacob A — 08 Jun 2012

This is a rather bittersweet film, I think it is alot less cheerful than belleville rendezvous but still well thought out, probably more so! But for this film, I think what excels is the animation, every frame is like a painting, in fact every frame IS a painting!

Though animation aside the story seemed very subtle, it is bleak and depressing but light enough to leave you saddened but touched!

The perfect way to describe this film is the feeling you get when there is a lump in your throat but also having the unability to cry, For me, it took me about 15mins after this film to get rid of it!!! Which showed me that though this film did affect me, it was slightly annoying it wasn't sad enough to make me get rid of that lump and cry. I think its an interesting point to this film that its use of 2D cartoon animation is more similar to how anime is typically used for, but more so in the sense of creating a sense of drama through the background rather than in the imaginative sense. Its like the drama in this film is focused on the background just as much in the foreground in this film. It is beautiful film that requires a watch for those who care for the beauty of western animation.