Multiplex #554: The Disillusionist

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#554: The Disillusionist January 27, 2011

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Notes from the Manager

Most of you have probably heard of The Illusionist already, but it was nominated — along with How to Train Your Dragon and Toy Story 3 — for a Best Animated Feature Academy Award. I haven't seen it yet (the Blogger's opinions here are based on the "universal acclaim" it has been receiving from other critics).

The film is by Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville), based on a script by Jacques Tati, a French filmmaker who had a very singular approach to comedy: it's gentle physical comedy (not exactly "slapstick"), with a heavy dose of social commentary. Many of his films are available on Criterion Collection discs (and via Netflix Streaming), including Playtime, which is widely considered to be his masterpiece. Personally, I would not recommend starting there with his movies; it seemed to me like all of Tati's ideas distilled into one movie.

And yes, for those of you in the Chicago area, it is actually playing at the Music Box Theatre, one of my favorite moviehouses in the city, and one that is long overdue for Jason and Devi to visit… I will definitely be catching it there as soon as possible.

UPDATE: I was interviewed by MTV Geek not that long ago, and it looks like they've posted it. Checkitout!

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