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If the hand-drawn frames aren’t enough to garner your interest in Jacques Tati’s beautiful semi-autobiographical narrative, the simplicity of this father-and-daughter story will certainly win you over. That is, if you have a heart. The detailed look of the animated film is simply breathtaking, making the computer work of a Pixar film look juvenile at best. Make no mistake about it, French filmmaker Sylvain Chomet’s films (The Triplets of Belleview) are essential works of art and life.
Playing out as mostly a silent film, L'illusionniste lets the striking visuals of the story carry the heart and weight of its passionate narrative. An old magician, Tati himself, living in Edinburgh can’t seem to keep his audience or his rabbit from escaping him. A young orphan, Alice, mistakes his routine for real magic and decides to follow him until he takes her in as his own daughter. It’s a sort of mutual adoption, though. She takes care of him and the other vaudevillians living in the hotel the old man resides in – saving one from suicide with her hearty soup – and generally improving the atmosphere of the dingy hotel.
The old man takes on multiple jobs in order to keep up the illusion of providing her with her heart’s desires at a moment’s whim. Trouble is, he’s no good at them; barely, holding down the rent as a lowly magician. Time passes and the girl grows into a lovely woman and still the old man provides for her. Soon enough, he must let go to the magic act and let her go.
Slow-paced and grossly involving, Chomet allows for the audience to feel the full range of emotions within the story. The comedy of aging performers still at the epoch of their talents is precise and spot-on and never disappointing in intent. Radiating sun-filled emotion from each hand-drawn frame is an achievement in itself and the film, while warming and winning over its audience, is one of the most successful animated films at achieving real and magnificent pathos.
The illusion truly at the center of the picture is one of mortality in the wake of the passage of time and, when the old man discovers how quickly the young do grow up, there is a graceless beauty to the denouement that the film’s realistic locales and atmosphere has prepared you for. Uncomplicated and effective, L'illusionniste is a magical film that will transport you straight into the heart of real emotion with its timeless beauty.
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements and smoking.
