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| The Illusionist Poster (2006) Wikipedia.org |
The Illusionist (2006) Directed by Neil Burger has the same moral
story as the one from the fable “The Most Incredible Thing.” The undertones of
corruption in the patriarchal society of the 19th Century is
consistent throughout the film. The way the actors portrayed the people
mirrored the attitudes they would have had well. During this period, society
had started to become more cynical towards magical things, referring to them as
‘illusions’ or ‘tricks’ rather than ‘special powers.’
With this skepticism also came an intellectual reaction against
received authority, for example when the public protested after the arrest of Eisenheim or when he stood up to the police and said the Highness had murdered Sophie.
“Are you completely corrupt?”
“No, not completely, no, which is why I advise you to not accuse any
one, especially his Imperial Highness or you ought to end up in jail yourself.”
That contradictory comment is extremely frustrating, it is the epitome
of what an implicit dictatorship is all about, with power comes corruption.
This problem is still apparent in present time; from the protests in Hong Kong
this weekend to the situation in Iraq. The challenging storyline gives me the
ever-circling question: Is the Heir a bad character? I’m straining to think
back to when he’d been awfully wrong. I understand that he was planning to
overthrow his Father and he wanted Sophie to gain control of Hungary however
this isn’t a violent act nor would it devastate much as he seemed to know what
was good for him and others.
Although I could express my enthusiasm towards the amazing costume and
prop design as well as the characters and storyline in depth, I can’t help but
focus more on the universal problem; when will democracy be what it really means?
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