The Illusionist

(Non-political posts occasionally appear on the weekends.)

I finally caught up with The Illusionist, which I highly recommend. It's one of those films that doesn't win the Academy Award yet lingers in the memory long after you've forgotten whatever did win. The actors all do superb work, the pace is just right, and the atmosphere of old Vienna -- I can't help thinking of it as Mahler's Vienna -- is so convincing, you'll think you've vacationed there. Writer/director Neil Burger never puts a foot wrong. I'm gratified to report that this film looks like a film, not like a music video or a trailer.

While not overtly political, the film gives us a fictional Prince Leopold who bears no small resemblance to Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, the tragic figure at the heart of the 1889 Mayerling affair. This scandal -- a romantic murder-suicide which may actually have been a political killing -- probably gave birth to the modern assassination conspiracy theory. While The Illusionist does not address Mayerling directly, anyone with an ability to read between the lines will discover the writer's "take" on the incident.

Incidentally, the film boasts a fine score by Philip Glass. I'm a Glass fan, but even people who hate his work will like this like this like this like this like this like THIS like THIS like THIS like THIS LIKE this LIKE this LIKE this LIKE this...