Print | Recommend This Site

The Illusionist

Jean-Claude Donda, Eilidh Rankin, Duncan MacNeil, Raymond Mearns, James T. Muir, Tom Urie, Paul Bandey

Directed by: Sylvain Chomet

English Movie

The Illusionist is a 2010 animated film directed by Sylvain Chomet. The film is based on an unproduced script that the French mime, director and actor Jacques Tati had written in 1956. Controversy surrounds Tati's motivation for the script, which was written in collaboration with his long term writing partner Henri Marquet, between writing for the films Mon Oncle and Playtime. The main character is an animated version of Tati animated by Laurent Kircher. The plot revolves around a struggling illusionist who visits an isolated community and meets a young lady who is convinced that he is a real magician. Originally intended by Tati to be set in Czechoslovakia Chomet relocated the movie to Scotland in the late 1950s. According to the director, "It's not a romance, it's more the relationship between a dad and a daughter. A French illusionist finds himself out of work and travels to Scotland, where he meets a young woman. Their ensuing adventure changes both their lives forever. Details the story of a dying breed of stage entertainer whose thunder is being stolen by emerging rock stars. Forced to accept increasingly obscure assignments in fringe theaters, garden parties and bars, he meets a young fan who changes his life forever.