Mar 30, 2011

L'Illusionniste 2010, A Love Letter from Tati


After doing some research and coming up with nothing too remarkably sound-related, I found I couldn't focus on anything after I saw L'Illusioniste last Thursday at Kendall Square Cinema. I first saw advertisements for the film, directed by Triplets-famed Sylvain Chomet, while studying abroad in Paris, and it was unfortunately so close to the end of my stay that I couldn't see it there in a Parisian cinématheque. However, it stayed on my mind since as the one film I was absolutely aching to see-- I had obviously seen and loved The Triplets of Belleville and was super thrilled to see a new film from the creators.

The film is an adaptation of a screenplay written by the late french mime, Jacques Tati, originally written as a letter to his estranged daughter. The story in Chomet's interpretation follows a struggling magician who travels from Paris to Scotland in the 1950's, and along the way meets a young girl who believes his magic to be real. While generally praised for its poetic visuals and fabulous settings and character design, some die-hard fans of Tati's work found Chomet's adaptation ultimately disappointing. There will always be mixed feelings when one filmmaker is charged with the task of adapting the work of another, especially when the latter is deceased-- but I still find this film a piece of its own, and a wonderful and sentimental homage to the legend that was Tati.

-Lily.

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