Everyone has their hustle, man. Some people pick trash. Some people make jeans. I think I’m the best writer alive (or at least at my school.) The thing that unites us in our respective hustles, is the fact that all of us will get old. One day we’ll all have to give up our game.
The protagonist in The Illusionist is an aging French magician. He literally pulls rabbits out of hats traveling and performing around Europe. It is 1959 and people are starting to scream for rock stars and watch TV. As tired as he looks with deep bags under his eyes, the magician’s act is in worse shape. He gets booed off stage.
In Scotland he gets a warm reception in a crowded bar and meets a peasant girl who believes he can do real magic. His confidence is high so he fuels her belief by finding a coin behind her ear. Later, he finds new shoes for her in a store with the money he earns from his performances, but he delivers them to her through a magic trick.
Obviously, the girl jumps aboard the train he leaves in and expects him to pull tickets and a new life for her out of his sleeve.
The ending is brilliant. Words are used effectively here to make a very important statement. Whether you believe the words or not is up to you. I would question the credibility of the writer. Wink. Wink.
The film is a parable about fatherhood and is very reminiscent of the opening scene in Pixar’s Up in that it depicts life without much dialogue and features old people and animation. When the images are this rich and the scenes put together this good, dialogue is not missed at all. Anyways the characters aren’t able to speak to each other because one speaks French and one speaks English.
Shout out to FAU’s French Language Department, specifically, Professor Joseph, Professor Jurawan and Professor Reese. I didn’t become fluent last year but at least I have a decent foundation. Elles sont les meilleures.
The animation is pretty throughout the film and has a very soft and unique feel to it. The landscape shots are rendered especially well, with the results looking more like moving impressionist paintings than cartoons. I love the dreary London changing of the guard scene. It was in the background of the movie, but added mood to the story. For some reason it was really beautiful to watch.
There are a lot of memorable scenes. The magician's rabbit appears in every act and steals the show.
Growing old is something I am very scared of facing. One day my act will get old, and my tricks will become transparent to the snot noses coming up. This film is a reminder of that cold, lonely fact. The other thing I took from The Illusionist is that magic exists and mostly it exists when human beings are kind to each other.
I give this film an A+. The musical score is charming and the story is simple and sweet. I didn’t see Toy Story 3 so I am pulling for this to win best animated feature at the 83rd Academy Awards.
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