Review of The Illusionist (2009) by Kevin N — 06 May 2011

The truth is, no one is going to direct a Tati film in the way that Tati directed Tati films. The extraordinary filmmaker never had the opportunity to make his last script, but Sylvain Chomet gives it his best shot some thirty years after the director's death in this lively animated adaptation which takes a few liberties of its own but ultimately serves as a touching homage to and celebration of Jacques Tati and his timeless character Monsieur Hulot.

The film is not necessarily a happy one. Tati's funniest and most transitionary film 'Mon Oncle' featured the symbolism of a pack of puppy dogs bounding from the small village of the past to the growing city of the future, a innocent but excited embrace of modernism; this film, on the other hand, comes full circle in a scene that features an injured dog who straggles along to nowhere in particular with the help of some kind of mechanized canine wheelchair.

It's a film about growing up, one that explores the mortality of each passing generation, but it does so mostly tenderly. If the ending isn't exactly the heartwarming final sequences Tati was known for it at least shares his bittersweet outlook on the fragility of human beings.

Featuring gorgeous animation and a few very clever scenes, this is not to be missed- especially by Tati fans.