The Illusionist

In this age of computer generated animation, there is something refreshing about seeing a traditional hand-drawn animation, especially where the art is as beautiful as here in Sylvain Chomet's follow-up to Belleville Rendezvous. There is an additional delight for us here in Edinburgh in recognising the locations which are lovingly drawn from years gone by. (Really this film should be seen in the Cameo which features in the film).

The story is an adaptation of an unproduced Jacques Tati script and follows a stage magician (Tatischeff - clearly based very closely on Tati himself) struggling at a time when his art is clearly struggling in face of competition from rock'n'roll and TV. His search for an audience takes him from Paris to London and on to the Scottish Isles, where he meets a young girl who believes that his magic is real and follows him back to the mainland and onto Edinburgh, where he is forced to go to some lengths in order to maintain her illusions.

The action and the humour is very Tati-esque. Its genuinely funny and there's a great selection of supporting odd-ball characters including a German ventriloquist, a very sad clown and a psychotic rabbit. However, the humour is mixed with a very strong dose of melancholy from the dying of the old performance traditions.

However, the real delight here is in the animation. I suspect that this is the kind of film that will be repay multiple viewings, such is the attention to detail, all lovingly drawn, that you will pick up something new every time you see it (look out for the name of the pawnbrokers).

Overall - 8/10. A very old-fashioned film that is both funny and sad and lovingly illustrated.