Review of The Illusionist (2009) by Matthew G — 28 Apr 2012
A beautiful, poignant film. Animated, with very little dialogue, but excellent musical score and artfully chosen sound effects. The storyline is a simple bittersweet tale of a runaway Scottish lass(about 16)who's taken under the wing of a stage magician.
As the months pass she grows up and gets a boyfriend, so they part. Is is NOT quirky in the manner of the filmmaker's earlier Triples of Belleville. L'Illusionniste's script is an adaptation of an unproduced Tati script, and the stage magician character is closely modeled after Tati-the-actor's character Hulot.
Like the Hulot films (Mr. Hulot's Holiday; Mon Oncle) there is some visual humor, often wry or gently ironic. This movie has more of a bittersweet tenor to it though. The artsy animation beats the heck out of Disney Corporation's products, believe me--there are numerous framable frames here.
Won France's Cesar for best animated feature; nominated for U.S. Academy Award in that category, and many other nominations from film festivals and national awards. Alas, it bombed at the box office due to very limited release.
It's only hope for a profit is via DVD/streaming release.
This review of The Illusionist (2009) was written by Matthew G on 28 Apr 2012.
The Illusionist has generally received very positive reviews.
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