Two years ago I saw a trailer for a movie about magicians who rob banks to give to the poor. I never heard much about it and thought maybe it had gone straight to video. But no, it was released, but with very little marketing and then a number of odd things happened.
I may as well tell you up front that I believe that this film is actually an important and intellectual French film masquerading as a trivial popcorn movie. There are a number of things about this film that reveal that it is not mere cinematic fluff but is of interest to the readers of this blog, compelled as we are by the appropriate and innovative use of visual effects and our study of the esoteric knowledge that is hidden from the average, uninitiated member of the filmgoing audience.
I may as well tell you up front that I believe that this film is actually an important and intellectual French film masquerading as a trivial popcorn movie. There are a number of things about this film that reveal that it is not mere cinematic fluff but is of interest to the readers of this blog, compelled as we are by the appropriate and innovative use of visual effects and our study of the esoteric knowledge that is hidden from the average, uninitiated member of the filmgoing audience.
On
the surface the movie is an action / caper film about 4 street
magicians who are brought together by an unknown person to create a
new act, called the Four Horsemen. They nearly instantly become very
famous and successful and their shows sell out and become media events not just because they have
great style but also because they rob banks as part of their show and
then give the money to their audience. Since in fact
there are laws against robbing banks, unless of course you are
already wealthy in which case you can do what you want, the FBI and
Interpol get involved to solve the case and put our heroes into
prison. The Four Horsemen have to somehow continue to evade the FBI,
continue to rob banks, and somehow do all this in their final show in
New York with the whole world watching and the FBI closing in.
But from the very beginning, the film confounds expectations.
But from the very beginning, the film confounds expectations.
A young man stands
in front of a mirror practicing various sleight of hand flourishes
with a deck of cards (see below). As he does so, there is a voice
over, the voice of a young magician and he says to his invisible
audience:
Magician: Come in
close. Closer. Because the more you think you see, the easier it
will be to fool you. Because, what is seeing? You're looking, but
what you are really doing is filtering... interpreting... searching
for meaning. My job? To take that most precious of gifts you give
me, your attention, and use it against you.
So you see, the
movie begins with an idea, an idea from the philosophy of magic. It
is very unusual for an American movie to begin with an idea, or to
even have an idea anywhere in the movie for that matter. That was the first clue that something unusual was going on.
Lots of style and glitz in our magic shows these days.
Superficially,
the plot holes of the film, perhaps more appropriately called plot
chasms, might signify the film as not serious. But this unusual opening monologue also suggested that there was something else going on, something behind the
scenes, something mysterious. These clues suggested to me that perhaps it was made in the cinematic tradition of another country.
Let
us review some of the other unusual things about this film.
First,
Hollywood (in this case, an American & Canadian studio) rarely makes movies about magic, that is, the profession of
magic in this country. Whether the magicians are stage magicians,
close-up magicians, famous escapists, mentalists, whatever, they
rarely make films about these people, no matter how fictional. Such films are said to not make money,
according to the standard received wisdom. But this movie was made
nevertheless.
Step into my bubble, he said.
Second, the film, when released got lukewarm and mixed reviews, and received almost no marketing from the studio and it was expected to die a quick death. But, strangely enough, it didn't. Instead it proceeded to slowly build business by word of mouth and made over $100 million in this country for a total of at least $230 million in first release. That is very good for a film that cost $75 million to make and was expected to flop. In fact, it made more money than several other very expensive summer movies of that year and they are even making a sequel.
Third,
this film was made by a relatively unknown French director and it is
very rare for this country to finance a film by a foreign director
because such films rarely do well in this country. Unless of course
the foreign director makes films that are like American films in
which case he really isn't all that foreign, now is he? Hollywood
from time to time will co-finance a film by a famous foreign
director, but that is not what happened here.
She is beautiful.
He needs a shave.
Fourth,
the film is very, very French. It is not just an American caper film
done by a foreign director. No. From beginning to end, this film
feels like a French film in spite of the fact that Canal Plus did not
finance it. How could I tell? Well of course there was the opening already alluded to, but beyond that French filmmakers have a very
firm grasp of the essence of a film and have no problem sacrificing
plot credibility at any time if it contributes to the style of the
film or to the film's higher purpose. Plot, character,
plausibility? Poof, that is irrelevant. Second, the French seem to
have an affection for sophisticated and intelligent women who are not
22 years old as all the women in Hollywood seem to be and who,
generally speaking, have an affair with the male lead. Third, they
are very partial to male leads who do not shave. Fourth, the French
as a culture have a strange appreciation for the big budget nightclub
Vegas-type of show, in this case, of Magic. So lots of spotlights
and lots of showmanship. Kindof Siegried and Roy without Siegfried
and Roy. But most of all it is the cavalier dismissal of reality at
any time that just felt so very French to me.
A
typical French film might be a romantic action film about a beautiful
and well (un) dressed young woman who is secretly a mysterious alien
and who knows the secret of the rebirth of the universe and will save
the galaxy if only these men in the story would stop screwing around
and get out of her way before it is too late. This film is not about
that, but it is about 4 street magicians who do the most amazing and
implausible things with a good sense of style and outwit the FBI at
every turn.
Fifth,
the visual effects generally have a lot of panache and are not held
back by any old-fashioned concerns about believability. As the
French are very much into the meaning and semiotics of modern
architecture, the final scenes are a very busy effects sequence with
projection on buildings that is actually quite interesting if a
little unbelievable. The problem is that while we can project stereo on a building, I don't think we have the technology to project something such that each member of the audience will have their own point of view and perceive a holographic or stereo image that appears natural and in place. I think that most of these techniques restrict you to one point of view or at most a very few. This is a rare example of someone in the film business actually thinking ahead.
Since the police are after them, the Four Horsemen, now reduced to three, make a virtual appearance.
Sixth,
the film seems to attribute much of its implausibility to the
invisible hand of a secret philanthropic organization from ancient
Egypt that may be behind the mystery.
And
finally, I normally hate films with plot holes like this. But in this case I did
not mind it one bit. In fact in spite of everything, or perhaps
because of all the things I have mentioned, I actually found the film charming.
Although nominally the film may be about magicians who rob banks, we also have here a nice Cinderella meta-story about a French summer popcorn film that did well.
Although nominally the film may be about magicians who rob banks, we also have here a nice Cinderella meta-story about a French summer popcorn film that did well.
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Now
You See Me (2013) on IMDB
Hollywood
Reporter article on Now You See Me Boxoffice
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-shocker-you-see-601936
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Notes
1. A flourish is the display of a deck of cards in a way that is designed to impress. It may or may not be part of an illusion. A good card player will often use flourishes when shuffling a deck as a way of intimidating his opponents or perhaps just to show off. In magic, it is part of the entertainment value of a show and is often used to distract the audience's attention. It may also be used by the magician as an exercise to develop skill and coordination.
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Notes
1. A flourish is the display of a deck of cards in a way that is designed to impress. It may or may not be part of an illusion. A good card player will often use flourishes when shuffling a deck as a way of intimidating his opponents or perhaps just to show off. In magic, it is part of the entertainment value of a show and is often used to distract the audience's attention. It may also be used by the magician as an exercise to develop skill and coordination.
Luv the build up to 'the final hint' Thanks to your review im gonna watch this movie,
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