OVP: The Illusionist (2010)

Film: The Illusionist (2010)
Stars: Jean-Claude Donda, Elilidh Rankin
Director: Sylvain Chomet
Oscar History: 1 nomination (Best Animated Feature)
Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars

The race for Best Animated Feature in 2010 was brutal.  There was, of course, the immovable objects of Toy Story 3 and How to Train Your Dragon, both of which were wildly praised by critics, and then, thanks to a smaller than usual annual crop, there were three films fighting over one final slot with Oscar: Disney's latest princess installment of Tangled, the surprise hit Despicable Me, and the vastly under seen The Illusionist.  And yet, when it came down to AMPAS making its decision, it bucked Disney and Universal, and instead chose the understated, quiet story of a man who befriends a young woman in 1950's Edinburgh.  So, of course, you can imagine my excitement at seeing this film that was deemed better than two massive Hollywood moneymakers, and while it surprised and delighted, I'm equally surprised that the Academy chose such a soft, gentle film over something so marketable.  Perhaps I should be less of a cynic.

But I digress, as there's a film at hand to get to, and we shall do just that.  The movie tells the story of a man, an aging illusionist who has found that his parlor tricks and rabbit-pulling is slowly losing its place in the world.  The film is based on a screenplay by renowned film director, comedian, and mime Jacques Tati.  If you've never heard of him, and I'll admit I was only passingly familiar, he's clearly worth a look-on Entertainment Weekly's list of the best directors of all time, he ranks, with only six films to his name; my Netflix queue is a bit fuller as a result.   The film is very autobiographical (more on that in a second), and is deeply melancholy and full of bitter whimsy.  You get to see that with the advent of rock music, television, radio, and film, there's little room left for a man who can simply perform basic illusions, as if from a magic starter kit.

The illusionist's world is shaken as the film goes on (spoilers to come in this quiet, lovely film), with him taking under his wing a young girl/woman who truly believes that he is doing real magic, and who follows him to Edinburgh after he gives her the present of some red shoes.  The illusionist tries desperately to keep up the charade of being an authentic magician, working more and more demeaning jobs in order to buy the young girl beautiful things she sees in shop windows.  Eventually, he is forced to sell his magician's kit and free his rabbit in order to make ends meet.  The film editorializes a bit throughout the second half of the film on how people become obsolete-we see the clowns and ventriloquists who make up his world slowly become homeless and suicidal.  The girl eventually meets a handsome young man whom she falls in love with, and the illusionist, seeing this, realizes that it is time to go on.  Before he goes, though, as a way of letting down the girl and perhaps trying to convince himself, he writes a note declaring that there is no such thing as magic.  In the end of the movie, we see him once again on a train, performing some slight of hand, and clutching the photo of a young girl, which the movie never reveals whether she is the girl he has taken under his wing (or perhaps she is just a surrogate).

The film has little to no discernible dialogue, and aside from a smattering of French, the characters rarely speak.  This makes the film almost silent in a way, which works wonders for it, particularly considering that the inspiration for the film was a mime.  I loved the color palette of the animation-all pastel reds and yellows and browns-and the characters are so lovely, like out of a French children's book.  The pacing does border onto the dull on occasion-particularly the middle third, where you're hoping to see the illusionist's life move in one way or another, rather than a very gradual slide, can try the patience.  Overall, though, it was a fine, if very small film to be nominated for an Oscar, with some moments that astound.  Particularly the end moment where the illusionist has confessed to the girl that there is no such thing as magic, and you are left to wonder if he too believed in it at one point.

The film was marred in some controversy when it was first released.  Because of the revered screenwriter (Tati meant to make this film after his beloved and Oscar-winning Mon Oncle), there was a lot of pressure on the Oscar-nominated Chomet (who also made The Triplets of Belleville) to deliver a great film, but in doing so, he neglected to call out the Tati's estranged daughter, who was the inspiration from the script.  Tati was allegedly writing the screenplay as a penance to his illegitimate eldest child, whom he regretted not knowing better when she was younger.  Though Tati himself is clearly on display in the film (Mon Oncle plays in one of the theaters attended by the illusionist), his daughter is never mentioned.

All-in-all, though, this was a worthwhile investment of my time, and though we'll get to where it ranks amongst the nominated (and un-nominated) animated films of 2010, I shall say that I give it a thumbs up.

What about you?  Are you a fan of The Illusionist?  Where does it rank on your particular Chomet film preferences?  And what about Jacques Tati-are you a fan, and where should a beginner start amongst his films?  Do tell in the comments!