Trick and treat
The Illusionist
Behind the story behind The Illusionist.
"To the outside world my grandfather Jacques Tati was the great mime, the celebrated cinematic artist who held the most special gift of being able to entertain and make people laugh," wrote Richard McDonald, in a letter to film critic Roger Ebert. "However this was also the same man who, in complete contradiction to his professional screen persona, had heartlessly abandoned both his eldest child Helga Marie-Jeanne and her mother."
In 1956, Tati wrote a screenplay called The Illusionist as both a letter to his estranged daughter and as a deeply felt semi-autobiographical account of what he saw as his own personal failings.
Adapted in 2010 by Sylvain Chomet, whose previous film The Triplets of Belleville was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Film, The Illusionist tells the story of a struggling magician whose search for work sees him travelling from Paris to London to a remote Scottish island. There he meets Alice, a young girl who believes his tricks are real, and the pair develops a deep bond. It's an exquisite animated work filled with moments of humour and real pathos, particularly considering its origins.
As the Boston Globe's Ty Burr says, "The Illusionist understands the illusions that sustain us in youth and that we have to let slip in the end. It's the rare work of art that cherishes both the magic and the trick."
The Illusionist screens in Seniors' Cinema from Saturday 16 July to Monday 25 July.
Published Thursday, 14 July 2011
|
|
|
