Feature film
The Illusionist
De Illusionist
Jos Stelling · 1983
Synopsis
A teenager dreams of becoming a conjuror. He grows up in the countryside, in a miller's family where the mother puts herself at the centre of everything, where the father would like to be done with it all and where the grandfather holds the money. His brother, whose mind is disturbed, is sent to the asylum after trying to strangle someone; the illusionist then sets out to fetch him, to spare him a lobotomy. The film has not a single word of dialogue.
Context
The film is loosely based on a stage show that Freek de Jonge, who plays the lead, performed in 1980, and for which he wrote the screenplay with the director. Theo van de Sande was behind the camera, Willem Breuker composed the music, and the cast brought together Jim van der Woude as the brother, Catrien Wolthuizen as the mother, Gerard Thoolen as the father and Carel Lapere as the grandfather. The New York Times reviewed it in 1985.
Who it is for
Ninety minutes without a single word, which makes the question of language moot. It helps to know that the comedy owes more to the clown than to plot.
Prizes and reception
Golden Calf for best feature film at the Dutch festival in 1984; the film crossed the border and was distributed in the United States.