Although it has a lot to do with Jacques Tati, "The Magician" is not at all high and low. It was originally an emotion between father and daughter, but it happened to be a peaceful encounter. You can do something very sensational, but you have to embed it in the scene. Edinburgh, with its lights dimmed and raining, is like all nights in the world, watching someone leave. It is not difficult to appreciate the family relationship in the film, it only requires a little patience from you. You can be a ignorant little girl, or a magician who is about to go on stage. Anyway, the movie takes all sizes, and the emotions in every frame make people feel real.
The movie started with black and white images, and then changed to color. At the end, the lights dimmed, faded to black and white, and then suddenly shot a black and white photo, caught off guard. This not only corresponds to the magician stage of the night, but also leaves a trace of time. "Magician" is a movie that fights against time. You will see the people and things that have disappeared, and re-experience the emotions that have long passed away and were not aware of. According to Tati’s image, he is the magician in the film. He is good at writing, directing and acting himself, and can amuse many audiences with movie magic, but these are all 40 or 50 years ago. The film has undergone self-changes in silent and color films, and encountered the impact of television and other media, and has suffered several difficulties. In "The Old Lady and the Pigeons" and "The Triplets of Belleville" (The Triplets of Belleville), Chaomai mocked consumerism and media voices represented by the United States. In "The Magician", Qiao Mai still expressed doubts about the emerging rock music and luxury goods, but the world will not change because of personal will, so the film reveals a sense of powerlessness in the face of time, and everything will fall. To the lonely magician.
The magician usually accompanies the rabbit and has no home. His performance was not attended, but there was a little girl who believed in magic and followed him. The temporary home is simple, and the magician conjures up what the little girl wants. But one day, he found out that it was time to leave, because another young magician was about to appear. The room called "home" was finally empty, only the shadow was talking.
The tone of "Magician" is quite sentimental, especially the sentence "Magician does not exist". The clown who tried to commit suicide, the ventriloquist who sold props and begged on the street, and the puppy with a broken leg. Because of the existence of these things, the magician was obviously not a single individual. One day, his fate will be the same as them. And if there is no little girl, he can't make up for his regret for his daughter. As for his past and where his daughter is, "The Magician" is all left blank, allowing people to imagine freely. Are they really the same all nights in the world? [Southern Metropolis Daily]
The gentleness and contemplation of "The Magician" corresponds to the noise and anxiety of "The Trio of Beautiful City". No matter from which point of view, these are the unique talents of Qiao Mai, the old age in the film is realistic and poetic. ——Cecile Mury ("TV Weekly")
The film extends Tati’s whimsy, and this final performance is full of magic and melancholy. --Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun Times)
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