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Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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The Illusionist (Film)

by Annette Basile | July 25, 2011 11:55 | Edited July 25, 2011 11:56

With its beautiful hand-drawn animation and unhurried pace, this whimsical and bittersweet story is sure to delight adult animation fans.

Whimsical, nostalgic and beautiful, this hand-drawn animated film relies almost entirely on visual storytelling. Few words are spoken - or needed - in this tale about Tatischeff (sparingly voiced by Jean-Claude Donda), an old-time magician facing a world that's interested in other art forms - like rock and roll. Ironically, that world is not today's. Starting off in Paris 1959, and soon travelling to Scotland via London, Tatischeff, acompanied by his magician's rabbit, is befriended by the innocent, Alice (Eilidh Rankin), and it's their friendship that forms the cornerstone of the film. Essentially a series of sweetly comic vignettes, The Illusionist is ravishing - the scenery and historic Scottish streets are gorgeous, and the animation fluid. A bittersweet cinematic poem, there's a sense of melancholy as we watch the ageing, solitary Tatischeff confront the fact that the world no longer has a place for him.

The Illusionist is based on a 1956 script by the late great French filmmaker and actor, Jacques Tati - who Tatischeff has been drawn to resemble - that was never realised on film until now. A British-French co-production directed by Sylvain Chomet (who also composed the score), this is more engaging and attractive than his acclaimed The Triplets Of Belleville, which had more garish looking characters. Here the animation is more classical looking, and less heavy-handed, and there's a dash of anime in the way that the characters are handled.

Sometimes films with minimal dialogue (or almost none, as in the case of The Illusionist), can test your patience. But that's not an issue here. In a sense, the film itself is in a time zone not our own, reviving the fading arts of hand-drawn animation and purely visual storytelling.