I accidentally found this little jewel while I was searching for another film of the same name a few years ago. I was absolutely enchanted and enamored. It's so beautiful and tragic. I found the protagonist to be like myself, of an age. He's both lonely and lost, having discovered the world has moved on without him. He finds a young fan who is charmed by his magic and his worldly travels. She follows him and they enter into a father-daughter type of relationship. Only the illusionist finds himself falling in love with the young lady. All the while the illusionist finds his audience disappearing, like the rabbit in his show. The story is warm and sad, but it is also magical. All of it told with images and virtually no dialog. It is not intended as animated entertainment for kids. I loved it so much that I purchased it, and I have watched it many times. Don't pay any attention to the hater reviews. This is real art, and most of today's movie goers disdain anything that eschews nudity, violence, or profanity.

This animated film is outstanding, i cant see anything wrong with it. I'm inspired by this world that was created for us. Everyone must see this movie. My first love as i watched this movie was the animation, i saw this film on my film class at school, and as it ended there were different positions on liking or disliking the film, i was impressed by my classmates opinions, at first they said that this film contained simple animation. My face fell off, I've seen every animated movie bye Mr. Chomet and i can say this was his most detailed animated movie yet, every frame is so detailed and neat. The quality of the animation was the reason i was so interested at the beginning of the illusionist. The way Jacques moved was so brilliant, off course later i realized that hist movement was based on a real human being. I don't want to ruin this movie for you, i just want to say that this movie brought my most humble and sensitive side.

I bought this DVD a few months ago, and as things happened didn't get to see it until yesterday. It's a brilliant piece of animation that's not only based on a Jacques Tati script, but practically has him casted at the lead. To be more precise the aging magician leading the story is an animated incarnation of Tati's Mr. Hulot. The animated character moves like him speaks like him (that is hardly ever) and even thinks like him. For any fun of Tati this is simply sheer magic. The story itself is not the most original, but the way it's being told is so wonderful it feels like an original. It's definitely a bit of animation with a soul. Both comic and moving like most of the great comedians are. If you have the opportunity - don't miss this one.

I really liked "The Triplets of Belleville", so I decided to watch this movie. I have to say though, that even when the animation was captivating (beautiful landscapes, and a lot of details), the plot was not in my opinion. Maybe it is because of the fact that it is a semi-silent movie, and those are not my favorites though. The score though was great, it helps to stay focused in the movie, even in the absence of dialogue.I think my main issue, was the sense of hopelessness after watching the movie. As a reviewer in Amazon wrote, when you finish watching the movie, you just feel like "if you just got punched in the soul".However, I think if the movie can transmit such strong feelings, it definitely is fulfilling the purpose of transmitting a message.Score (7)