How Does It End? As Seen in:

By Jesenia Calderón Quintanar, Anna Slusser, and Awdah Alghanam

How Does It End? Topic Overview How are people affected by change? Some are

able to adapt, while others, sadly, are not. The ‘50s were known for many things that changed the American and European culture: post-war affluence, the rise of modern jazz, the rise of ‘fast food’ restaurants and drive-ins, the invention of the teenager, the rise of drive-in theaters, and the rise of the anti-hero in films, such as James Dean, Paul Newman, and Marlon Brando. The 50’s were also known for the beginning of a new genre of music, as well as a new form of entertainment: Rock and Roll. This meant the end of traditional performers, such as illusionists, clowns, and ventriloquists. Jacques Tati wrote the script for the film The Illusionist. Tati was a music-hall mime before turning to film directing. The film was inspired by Tati, and is a “modest homage to its writer and a melancholy look at a lost world.” – Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

The passage of time, the changes in trends, and the differences in class are three major themes that L’Illusionniste deals with.

“It is the dusty stage world of magic and dancing girls that this film recalls with a delicate visual style, tender humor, and a sense of loss.” – Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

IntroductionL’Illusionniste was directed by Sylvain Chomet, and

was created with both hand-drawn animation and computer-generated animation. The film was based on a short sketch of a script by Jacques Tati. It was released in France on May 16th of 2010. It opened in 84 French cinemas and entered the box office at #8, with a revenue of €495,030 ($600,099) in the first weekend. The Illusionist shows

the less glamorous side of life of an entertainer. Set in 1959 Europe, it follows the story of a magician and his attempts to survive in the emerging new culture of entertainers.

StorylineL’Illusionniste is a story that presents the theme of the end and the beginning of an era. The main character is Tatischeff, an illusionist who is struggling to find jobs now that the popularity of his art is declining. With emerging rock stars stealing the show in 1959, Tatischeff is forced to take on more obscure assignments in fringe theaters, at garden parties, and in bars and cafés. He meets Alice while performing at a pub located in an isolated Scottish village, where the villagers are celebrating the arrival of electricity on their island. Alice is amazed by his tricks, and believes that his magic is real. Encouraged by the illusionist’s kindness, Alice follows Tatischeff to Edinburgh, where they fall into a daughter-father relationship. Alice tends to their home at a boarding house for vaudevillians, while Tatischeff works in a small local theatre. He presents Alice with her materialistic desires (such as a new coat and new shoes), which he has ‘conjured’ into existence. Worried about disappointing her, Tatischeff does not reveal to her that magic does not exist and that he is driving himself to ruin working all night jobs to buy her gifts.

Setting

The setting is 1959 Europe. The Illusionist is first seen at a theatre in Paris, where it is shown that his popularity has greatly declined. He then travels to London, where he is outshined by the rock band Billy Boy and the Britoons. Next, he journeys to a small and remote island in Scotland, where his show is finally shown some appreciation. However, soon after his performance, the villagers find a greater entertainment in a light switch and a jukebox. Finally, The Illusionist

travels to Edinburgh, where he stays for a while, before moving on.

Characters

The Illusionist, TatischeffA magician struggling to keep audiences interested in his old-fashioned sleights of hand, the main character resembles the great French comic actor and filmmaker Jacques Tati. Generous and kind, he takes on more jobs to support Alice’s tastes.

CharactersAlice

A naïve young girl, Alice is awestruck after witnessing The Illusionist’s show. Believing that his tricks are real magic, and encouraged by his kindness and generosity, Alice follows the Illusionist to Edinburgh.

CharactersOther Struggling

EntertainersThis includes a suicidal clown, a ventriloquist, and a trio of acrobats who are living in poverty because their practices are dying in this new age.

Jacques Tati

Jacques Tati was a beloved entertainer in France before, after and during World War II. His performances were said to have lifted the spirits of the downtrodden war-time population. Tati was also a writer and director. He was recognized as the 46th greatest movie director of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

Jacques Tati

The Illusionist was written by Tati in the late 1950s and was originally titled “Film Tati No. 4”. The script was to have been a follow-up to Tati’s film Mon Oncle. The film was never produced by Tati, but was instead handed over to Sylvain Chomet by Tati’s daughter Sophie.

Jacques

Tati

There’s some speculation about whether Tati wrote this film due to his feeling of regret for his lack of involvement in the life of his illegitimate daughter, Helga Schiel. Some also believe that it was a script written for his legitimate daughter, Sophie. Whomever the film was written for or inspired by, it is undoubtedly a tale of Tati’s life experiences.

The first footage of the film was shown at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. The Illusionist won 7 out of the 24 awards it was nominated for. These include:Best Animated Feature Film nomination at the

68th Golden Globe Awards.Best Animated Feature Film nomination in the

83rd Academy Awards.Best Animated Feature nomination for Annie

Award.Won the 1st Cesar Award for Best Animated

Feature on February 25th, 2011Won the 2010 European Film Award for Best Animated Film.

Accolades

Cultural Aspects Shown in the Film

Theaters & TV’s The continued growth of the lower-price cinema in the early

1910s was the major cause of the decline in traditional entertainment – vaudeville. Lured by greater salaries and less arduous working conditions, many performers and personalities used the prominence gained in live variety performance to vault into the world of the cinema. By doing this, however, many performers often exhausted in a few moments of screen time the novelty of an act that might have kept them on tour for several years. Vaudeville also suffered due to the rise of broadcast radio after the inexpensive receiver sets later in the decade. Some theatres continued to offer live entertainment, but by the 1930s, most theatres were forced by the Great Depression to economize. Some of the most famous vaudevillians continued the migration to cinema. Others, however, found that the gifts that had delighted live audiences did not translate well into different media. Many retired from performance and took on ordinary jobs from the world of the middle class.

Theaters & TV’s

Historian John Kennick wrote:“Top vaudeville stars filmed their acts for one-time

payoffs, inadvertently helping to speed the death of vaudeville. After all, when ‘small time’ theatres could offer ‘big time’ performers on screen at a nickel a seat, who could ask audiences to pay higher amounts for less impressive live talents? The newly-formed RKO studios took over the famed Orpheum vaudeville circuit and swiftly turned it into a chain of full-time movie theatres. The half century tradition of vaudeville was effectively wiped out within less than four years.”

Rebels Without A Cause

The 1950s introduced the creation of the teenager. Teenagers were also the new and younger market. During the 1950s, films and music were directed towards teenagers, with the goal of making as much money as possible.“There’s always a bit of aggression between a dad and his daughter when she is turning into a young woman but she’s behaving like a little girl. The dad doesn’t know what to do anymore; it’s a very peculiar moment –and The Illusionist is like her dad. That’s why she’s going through this crisis. And this time, at the end of the 50s, was the invention of teenagers, and teenagers were invented because they could buy things.” – Sylvain Chomet, on Alice and the Illusionist

The Rock and Roll Revolution in France and the U.S.

The Nouvelle Vague or New Wave of popular music in France was embodied by a nonchalant, devil-may-care attitude. Film started to imitate US actors such as Humphrey Bogart while music imitated Elvis Presley. Youths were looking to be less serious than the generations of yesteryear. “In the United States, the beginnings of rock and roll were in the spontaneous fusion of African-American rhythm and blues and European-American country and hillbilly music. In France, the beginnings of indigenous rock and roll lay in the efforts of individuals to convince record producers that such a music should he created because the market already existed.“ – Larry Portis, French Frenzies

The Rock and Roll Revolution: France

The French Rock and Roll Revolution started with influence from the flux of popularity in US Rock and Roll in the 1950s. Artists of the time have admitted that it all started with them parodying songs from the US. This brought about such titles as “Hiccup Rock”, "Go Cook An Egg, Man!” and “Tell Me You Love Me Rock”. We can see this influence in the film via the silliness of Billy Boy and the Britoons.

The Decline of Traditional Entertainers

The rise in popularity of rock and roll music caused a great decline in more traditional “music hall” acts. The fans of rock and roll were young and had very little interest in such old fashioned styles of entertainment. Music halls were forced to book rock and roll bands or go out of business; pushing out

the traditional performers. The final demise of the music hall and traditional entertainment, though, was the growing popularity of the television.

How Does It End? Major Themes

The Change of Trends & The Passage of Time

The video (located above) should start playing automatically. If not, click on this link to access the

video on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=_4AuxL7ciBk&edit=vd

The Passage of Time

The video (located above) should start playing automatically. If not, click on this link to access the

video on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=BajzYzCNDk0&edit=vd

The Differences in Class

The video (located above) should start playing automatically. If not, click on this link to access the

video on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?

edit=vd&v=k3IIasZsTNw

THE END

Questions

What is the message of this movie? Do you agree or disagree with it?

What were you thinking as you finished watching the film?The Illusionist chooses to leave in the end of the film.

Explain why The Illusionist felt he needed to leave. What motivated him? What did this motivation have to do with the theme of the film?

In what ways are the characters’ actions driven by the cultural changes of the time? Analyze the 3 clips. How do Tatischeff and Alice represent the major themes of the movie?

Group Members & Their Collaboration

Awdhah Alghanam: Creation of the Google Doc

Anna Slusser: Discussion Questions, gathering of information for Rock and Roll Revolution and the Decline of Traditional Entertainers slides, as well as the Jacques Tati slides.

Jesenia Calderón: Edit and design of slides and presentation, creation of clips, as well as the gathering of information for the presentation.

Works Cited