The Illusionist (2010)

Sheer Genius - 5/5

So I saw this film yesterday called The Illusionist and if you'll remember this was one of three films nominated for an 'Academy Award For Best Animated Film' alongside How To Train Your Dragon and Toy Story 3, which sadly was eventually won by Toy Story 3 despite both the other films being better in my opinion. However, I think the Toy Story franchise was deserving of an Oscar at some point, after only previously being nominated, so in some ways I was glad it was triumphant.

The Illusionist was certainly deserving of a nomination and I think against other films it would have succeeded in winning. However, I'm glad the film got recognized for its beauty and genius and the fact it was pretty much a 90 minute silent movie that was at no point boring. That's what fascinated my abut this film. What little words there were were in a different language but through the
animation the plot was far easier to understand that many other films. The animation itself brought with it a retro and nostalgic charm that warmed the heart and the touch of humour throughout was effective. The film contained some very deep and moving messages to boot. As you can see, this film has pretty much everything you would want.

The director Sylvain Chomet deserves every bit of praise he received for the production. It is an absolute masterpiece and I think he'll find it hard to top. This film will define what has been a short but poetic career after directing only five films so far including Paris Je T'aime.

If the fact the film is all but silent has put you off, I plead with you to give it a chance. I cannot praise the film highly enough and it is a testament to what can be achieved with very little. Get out there and find a copy.

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