The Illusionist – Review
PCOer The Surreal McCoy writes with a short review of The Illusionist, the new film by Sylvain Chomet.
The perfect antidote to Hollywood’s current obsession with computer-generated 3D imagery, The Illusionist is the latest animated feature from Sylvain (Belleville Rendez-vous) Chomet.
I defy anyone to watch dry-eyed as the poignant story of an ageing magician trying to make a living during the dying days of variety unfolds in glorious watercolour against the backdrop of 1950s Edinburgh.
Based on an unfilmed screenplay by Jacques Tati, Chomet uses hand-drawn images to conjure up an atmospheric and nostalgic film with breathtaking landscapes and city scenes, employing plenty of visual background humour but hardly any dialogue.
I’d argue magicians do exist (you have to see the film to get that reference) and surely Sylvain Chomet is one of the master illusionists.
Bloghorn particularly enjoyed the English garden party (there’s a snippet from it in the video) and the Scottish island. Click the video for a larger version. Our thanks to Surreal for the review.
5 comments
Looks breathtaking and a reminder of what great animation is capable of.
Magical! (I’m a great fan of Jacques Tati, too)
It looks wonderful, however, it’s clear from the clip above that there is a HUGE amount of ‘computer-generated 3D imagery’ in the movie. It’s just used differently. CGI is a tool, that’s all. It’d down to the artists how they choose to use it.
First time for a long time ,I watched a Youtube thing all the way through. Then again. And again. I also read a couple of crits on other sites, one of which was very casual and thought that The Illusionist was no great shakes and hadn’t improved on the cycling epic. Anybody who thinks that must be AWFULLY clever and know loads more than ordinary folk like me. I thought the trailer was ace.
Great stuff n’ it may have used a bit of computer stuff as Ian said, but it didnt look like it. Going back is the way foreward in animation for me.
Leave a Comment