L’illusionniste (The Illusionist)
Winter 2011 Features series
Sunday, March 27, 2011 at 4:00pm
Sunday, March 27, 2011 at 7:00pm
Acadia Cinema's Al Whittle Theatre
450 Main Street, Wolfville, NS
Directed by Sylvain Chomet
Screenplay by Jacques Tati
Starring Jean-Claude Donda, Edith Rankin, Jil Aigrot, Didier Gustin, Frederic Lebon, Tom Urie
Rated PG ·
1h 30m
United Kingdom and France
English, French, Gaelic
L’illusionniste (The Illusionist)
As cheeky, boisterous and witty as it is delicately drawn and beauteous to behold, Sylvain Chomet’s second feature film is a winner on every level.
Our weary hero is an over-the-hill magician, complete with less-than-friendly white rabbit; their adventures are based upon an unrealised script by Jacques Tati, the action of which Chomet transposed to Scotland after he moved here in 2004. Always in search of a paying gig, the illusionist treks from Paris to the Western Isles to Edinburgh – acquiring, along the way, a young travelling companion who sincerely believes in his magical abilities.
Rich with visual jokes, seductive 1950s period detail and breathtaking views of city and wilderness alike, this is the work of a master in his field – and one of the most gorgeous evocations of Scotland in cinema history.