The Illusionist

Staring:
Director: Sylvain Chomet
Production: company: Allied Films
Produced by": Sally Chomet Bob
Last Screenplay by: Henri Marquet Sylvain Chomet Jacques Tati (original french script)
Story by: Jacques Tati
Starring: Jean-Claude, Donda Eilidh Rankin
Music by: Sylvain Chomet Edited by Sylvain Chomet
Languages: French, English, Gaelic
Release: 2010

Plot: In 1959 Paris, an out-of-work illusionist packs his belongings, including an ill-tempered rabbit, and moves to London. Unable to compete with modern entertainment, such as rock and roll, he plies his trade at smaller gatherings in bars, cafés, and parties. He accepts the invitation of a drunken party patron to visit a remote Scottish island, where he entertains the locals. Staying in a room above the pub, he meets a girl, Alice, who is captivated by his illusions and kindness, including a gift of red shoes.

Alice believes the downtrodden performer possesses genuine magical powers, and follows him to Edinburgh, where he performs at a modest theatre. They share a room in a run-down guest house favoured by other fading performers. The illusionist sleeps on a couch and the girl keeps busy by cleaning and cooking food that she shares with the neighbours. The girl's affections even tame the rabbit, but the illusionist's increasingly meagre wages, spent on gifts for Alice, lead him to pawn his magic kit and secretly take on demeaning jobs.

Alice attracts the affection of a handsome young man. After the illusionist sees them walking together, he leaves her with money and a note stating "Magicians are not real". He also releases the rabbit on Arthur's Seat, where it soon meets other rabbits. As Alice moves in with her boyfriend, the illusionist departs on a train, where he declines an opportunity to perform a magic trick for a child.

Reviw: This animated movie is more an unconventional love story between a Father and Daughter. Though the two are not related their relationship is uniquely bound by a combination of fascination and magic. He seems attracted to her as someone who needs protecting while she seems attracted to him as someone she believes is a real life magician. Their journey takes them to the very edge of life and despair; where they meet various actors and performers who each are looking for something to live for.

As a movie I found this both humorous and touchingly sad. The reflection of their relationships ending seems the hardest for me to accept. But perhaps that is just me. You may find in it a completely different meaning. Only by watching the movie will you be able to discover your own answer.

M J Flack