Word: illusionist
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...projector so quickly that the eye believes the images on them are moving. That lie, of moving pictures, seemed like magic to early spectators and, when all the conjuring arts and techniques are aligned, seem so today. Viewers still allow themselves to be fooled by the director: the illusionist-in-chief...
...Illusionist, based on a story by Steven Millhauser, is the perfect title for any movie that wants you to consider the first principle of cinema: take nothing you see for granted. Same goes for the film's title character, Eisenheim (Edward Norton), who astonishes Vienna theatergoers of a century ago with his subtle sleight of hand. In an instant, this sorcerer can make an orange tree sprout from a seed. He can stick a saber on a floor that strong men are unable to dislodge. Perhaps he can bring the dead back to life. You are welcome to conclude that...
Filmed in Prague, that city of secrets, The Illusionist takes some getting used to. You must shrug off a clumsy opening and indulge the American stars (Norton, Biel, Giamatti) for strutting their fanciest Anglo-European accents. But even those may be devices of misdirection, little traps set by Neil Burger, the writer-director. It's not how Burger sets the stage; it's what he puts on it. Soon Norton slips into Eisenheim's skin and, with the aid of real-life master magicians Ricky Jay and Michael Weber, makes the enterprise soar--or, at any rate, levitate...
...19th century duchess who falls for a magician in The Illusionist, Jessica Biel trades action for corseting...
...deft sleight of hand, it's not surprising to learn that the director's preferred medium is magic. New Zealand?born Nawalowalo, 43, played basketball for her country before joining a mime troupe that took her to Europe in the late '80s. For seven years she worked with English illusionist Richard McDougall, melding mime, masks and magic. But a 1994 trip back to Fiji with her ailing father proved to be a turning point. Being exposed to the female rituals of village life made the director "want to go deeper into my own culture," she says. By decade...