The Illusionist The Illusionist
Fifties. The Illusionist Tatischeff toured Europe in search of places where you can perform, but his art is now unwelcome to a public that prefers the new stars of rock 'n roll. He arrived in a remote island in Scotland, a man finds unexpected admirer in the little Alice, who decides to follow its movements. Between the two comes as a loving relationship that is reminiscent of a father with his daughter. And while Tatischeff trying to make ends meet, steering a middle course between the use of his tricks by magician and work a lot less noble (the mechanic, the human image of a lingerie shop), Alice learns to discover the world are fascinated by its possibilities .
few years ago, the exploits of the beautiful The Triplets of Belleville had not only revealed to the world the talent of Sylvain Chomet, but had also made comparisons with advancing the art of Jacques Tati, accomplice in a style that, while the original compared to the masterpieces of the French master, was fond of the visual component and the importance of sound than the dialogues. The action became so eminently a matter physics, in a riot of slapstick inventions and a combination of the centrality of image / sound that reflects the power of classic silent films. Does not therefore seem strange that now directly addresses this legacy Chomet, transposing a script ever made by the same Tati.
Tatischeff The protagonist of the story is the same as Tati, whose design incorporates the features and that sort of physical inadequacy with respect to itself and the world: too tall and skinny compared to the ways that would require a less rigid and lanky figure, too discreet and polite compared to a reality that seems to follow the new easily leaving the past behind. The inadequacy of the character is also noticeable compared to his work as a magician who seems to carry the legacy of the past by a quiet rhythm and able to dream, compared to a modernity that makes its way by force and shouted Concert urban chaos. Not by chance is a kind of place not like the Scottish island, which is experimenting in those days the arrival of electric light, which Tatischeff can still perform and find a pristine look like that of Alice. E 'in the place that the illusion have asylum and involves everyone present, as in poetic scene where the protagonist thinks he's seen snow because of the feathers of a cushion to spread the court.
The relationship thus established between the man and the "daughter" is to foster involvement in a world that knows the difficulties of living and seeing the various and colorful characters share the problems of trying a place to perform. In prioritizing the most picturesque in a world where extracted from the rabbit hat revealed unexpected carnivorous ambitions, Chomet still working on nuances that are grafted onto a highly realistic. We are therefore far from the pace crackling and businesses of acrobatic
Belleville, unlike the technique here is reminiscent of the great masters of Japanese animation as Yasuji Mori, capable of working on the dynamics of the body in relation to the surrounding space, the small gestures denoting hesitation, and a strong interaction with realistic objects and environments. The tone, for his part, becomes more pensive, but always careful not to fall into easy sentimentality.
Tatischeff, in fact, always try to preserve its integrity against a world that also does not understand and does not seem to understand it, and its existence and coinciding at the same time distances itself from that of Alice, who also is a look alien compared to the world, but unlike his mentor is a figure open to external stimuli, curious to learn the wonders of modernity. Thus, the awareness of his inadequacy of Tatischeff runs hand in hand with the gradual revival of Alice, which gradually change the way they dress and the wearing shabby clothes and goes from a young maid high heels for women and also seems to open all ' love.
So if Tatischaff is an icon of another era whose actions reverberate this its perennial status of immobility with respect to time, Alice appears instead as a figure of summaries compared to a past from which it comes and modernity that is still attracted to new lives and therefore the relationship with the metropolis with equally dreamy look.
The film dribbles well the pitfalls of easy nostalgia, focusing on the analysis of two characters in a tight situation "middle" in a world in transition (the fifties post-war) and let the relationship between the two is the symbol of a reality that seems to go for clear break, but in fact evolve through small steps. In this way the film manages to be both homage to Tati, but also be able to film in our time to tell the essence of magic, which is not only closed the theater but also in the complexity of the world "outside".
The Illusionist (The Illusionist)
Director: Sylvain Chomet
Original Screenplay: Jacques Tati, as adapted by Sylvain Chomet
Origin: UK / France, 2010
Length: 90 '