The Illusionist

For the past two nights my wife and I have watched The Illusionist - an animated film about an old magician who befriends a young women as he travels from place to place.  I say two nights... because we both fell asleep the first night about half way through.  Not that the film is boring - its not - but it has a different pace to it - quiet, gentle, movements.  There is very little dialogue that is audible - the music is wonderful (yet very relaxing) and the illustrations are beautiful.  So it took us two nights - but it was worth it.

I have a 9 year old daughter who still loves, and even believes in, fairies.  She still sees the world as a magical place.  She told me the other day how "miraculous" flies are - because they could see all over.  She stills believes there is a fairy that puts streamers over her door the morning of her birthday, and she continues to build little fairy houses in the yard.  Some of her friends have moved on - to Justin Beiber of all things - which frustrates her.  She wants nothing to do with it.  (Although, she is an avid Foo Fighters fan... I caught her humming some tunage from the new record the other day... to my wife's dismay.)  When we moved back into our house I bought her a poster with Tinkerbell on it that reads, "Who says Fairies Don't Exist?"

This is what the film is about - a world that is becoming less and less magical, and a young girl who still believes.  Without giving away the ending... I found it exhilarating and heartbreaking all wrapped into one.  There is an obvious carry over to the notion of believing in God... which could easily be one of the undercurrents of the film.  At one point there appears a note that reads "Magicians are not real."  The theological connection is obvious - In a world that increasingly doesn't believe in God, or at least a certain kind of God, what about those who still believe?

My daughter will NOT believe in fairies soon enough - I'm not going to be the one to ruin it for her.  At least she still apprehends the magic of life... and it shows in the way she lives.  While Fairies may disappear - I never want her to lose the "magical" paradigm.

I loved the film - encourage everyone to see it.  Just make sure you watch it sometime when you're not sleepy - or it might take you a couple nights to get through it.