The Illusionist - A Truly Magical Story

Although not a theatrical production per se, Sylvian Chomet’s beautiful full length animated feature, The Illusionist, explores the complicated and sad lives of performers whose craft is no longer appreciated. I was truly blow away by this film, which in my mind is a work of pure art. The story, based on a script by the French actor/director Jacques Tati, follows an old vaudeville magician in 1950’s Paris who has to take small jobs performing in hotels and parties to make a living. One such job takes him to Glasgow, where a hotel maid, a young Scottish girl, befriends and follows him to Edinburgh. Their relationship is not romantic in any way, but is instead that of a father and daughter in need of comfort. Because they do not share a common language, they communicate merely by eye contact, gestures, and short phrases. This absence of dialogue is precisely what makes the film expressive of such genuinely universal human emotions as paternal love and youthful naiveté. 

   The lack of words throughout the film also makes you more aware of the imagery itself. 

With each frame resembling a painting, I got lost in the world of old Paris, London, and Edinburgh. The scenes of beautifully lit Parisian cityscapes and green highlands of Scotland made me long to go to those places more than ever before. Seeing the streets of London as they looked some sixty years ago, the same streets I walk through now, gave me a warm feeling of nostalgia and comfort. Chomet and his animators pay impeccable attention to detail, defining each object and movement in order to make the viewer believe that they are looking into the world of real people, not animated figures. The use of light and color is significant throughout the movie, particularly in the scene when the illusionist surprises the girl with the red shoes she was looking at in a shop window. As the relationship of the two characters (whose names are never actually revealed) develops, we get to see it through these particular details.

   The Illusionist takes us into the lives of characters who need love and compassion in order to keep going. We see their vulnerability and struggles as they slowly move along their paths. The film is also very humorous, lightening up any moment that would otherwise be melancholy. The illusionist’s magic tricks bring a sparkle to the screen, even though we are always aware of how he makes them happen. To his young friend, he is a real magician because he makes it possible for her to start a new life. The film touches on several of these emotional themes, but does so without cliches or melodramatic sentimentality. Instead it reaches out through its beauty and silence, allowing you to contemplate each scene without the bombardment of words. Just like me,  after watching this film, you too will believe, if only for a moment, that real magic is not always an illusion. 

-Valentina Mogilevskaya