Talk about timing, just after my article yesterday discussing the Feature Animated Oscar contenders Apple goes and debuts the new domestic trailer for Sylvain Chomet’s The Illusionist, which is set to hit New York and Los Angeles theaters on December 25 and expand from there.
The film is based on an unproduced script by French comedy legend Jacques Tati and details the story of a dying breed of stage entertainer whose thunder is being stolen by emerging rock stars. Forced to accept increasingly obscure assignments in fringe theaters, garden parties and bars, he meets a young fan who changes his life forever.
I saw the film at the Toronto International Film Festival and enjoyed it although I was a bit surprised by the maturity of it, which you may get almost immediately from the text early in this trailer saying, “When life loses its wonder…” The trailer, of course, gets a bit more optimistic from there on, but the film itself is tremendously melancholy. However, anyone that’s seen a Jacques Tati film will marvel at how well Chomet has captured the late French comedian.
Give the trailer a watch below, and I’ve also included the poster, which I featured last night.
