Saturday, September 18, 2010

L'Illusionniste

The Illusionist. GB/FR (c) 2010 Django Film Illusionist / Ciné B / France 3 Cinéma. D: Sylvain Chomet. SC: Jacques Tati. AN: Paul Dutton,  Laurent Kircher. 78 min. An Atlantic Film / Pathé International print viewed at Helsinki Film Festival, Bio Rex, 18 Sep 2010

A fine animation based on a posthumous screenplay by Jacques Tati, featuring an ageing professional magician called Tatischeff touring in Scotland. He becomes the custodian of a young girl who finds romance in the town.

This is a film with hardly any dialogue, and it does not need translation.

A stylish, gently melancholy film, a fine Tati homage with affinities to Chaplin's Limelight. The wind, the light and the shadow are central elements in the animation.

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