The Illusionist Trailer

The Illusionist is a new classically drawn animation from director Sylvain Chomet who brought us the wonderful film Belleville Rendez-vous which was the first film to feature his unique style of production. The Illusionist was written in the 1950's by French mime, director and actor Jacques Tati.

The Illusionist tells the tale of a struggling magician who's finding it increasingly difficult to get good jobs. As film stars and musicians become more fashionable, the art of being an entertainer and Illusionist seems to be a dying trade.

Our Illusionist makes a move to a remote town in Scotland seeking new crowds to impress, his show isn't quite the success he'd hope for but one young girl keeps his spirits up and is enamoured by his performance. Alice believes the magic in the Illusionists show is real, fascinated by the man and his act Alice follows the magician to Edinburgh where he takes up a residency. As her belief in magic becomes stronger, the Illusionist keeps 'magically' appearing gifts for the young girl but as time goes by, he ends up almost financially ruined but unable to break Alice's heart and let her know the truth.

The french title for the movie is: L'Illusionniste

Released in the UK 20th August

Directed by: Sylvain Chomet

Written by: Jacques Tati

With the voice of: Jean-Claude Donda