The Illusionist

The Younger Son and I had been looking forward to The Illusionist (2010), because it's from Sylvain Chomet. It's based on a story by Jacques Tati. I loved it, both the story and the animation, because I love both artists, but The Younger Son doesn't care for Tati. The film was a disappointment for him.

trailer:



Slant Magazine calls it a "tender but bravely downbeat film". Time Out discusses the controversy over the making of this film -it involves an illegitimate daughter never acknowledged and what exactly Tati's purpose was in writing the story. NPR says,

Though lovely to the core, The Illusionist misses some of the exuberance that enlivened The Triplets of Belleville

DVD Talk opens with this:

If there is such a thing as a match made in heaven, the animated movie The Illusionist just may be the most convincing evidence of it we'll find here on Earth. This delightful movie is the latest effort by Sylvain Chomet, the gifted director responsible for The Triplets of Belleville.

Roger Ebert closes by calling it "an extension of the mysterious whimsy of Tati". Rotten Tomatoes gives it a score of 90%.