Last night we watched the 2010 animated film, The Illusionist, by French film-maker Sylvain Chomet, who also made 2003 animated film, The Triplets of Belleville. Shane and I loved The Triplets of Belleville, and when we saw the reviews last year for The Illusionist, I immediately put it on my Netflix queue.
The Illusionist is based on a script by Jacques Tati written in 1956. Tati was a famous French comedic actor and director from the 50s and 60s. He is apparently considered a genius.
The Illusionist takes place in the 50s and is about a magician who finds it difficult to find work in France, so he travels to England and Scotland to find jobs. While on one of these jobs he befriends a young lady who follows him to his next job, and he takes the girl under his wing. He buys things for her and ends up having to find extra jobs to support this girl.
This is very little dialogue in this film, similarly to the The Triplets of Belleville. However, I have to say this story was not as interesting. The film is full of oddball characters, but I found myself dozing off at points. It was actually kind of depressing. All this illusionist could make disappear was my consciousness. I do have to say, however, the trailer (below) makes it look good.
