WFF Review : My Magic
Eric Khoo's new film was one of the many movies shown at Cannes last year that got really mixed reviews. Some where praising it for it's pure beauty, some were wondering why it was even part of the competition. After seeing it at the World Film Festival, it's easy to see why it divided the audience. My Magic doesn't have the prestige of a Clint Eastwood film, it's a film shot in only nine days on a tiny budget and unprofessionnal actors. That doesn't stop this quickie from carrying a lot of charm mixed with some truly gruesome images. Who would have thought a film about a magician doing his comeback could be so exploitative ? I sure as hell didn't.
Francis has better days. A once famous magician, he's now working as a waiter in a crappy tavern and raises his son by himself. Tormented by alcoholism, he cannot stop himself from spending all his money on booze. For his kid, life is a nightmare. Everyday, he's being bullied at school and comes back home to take care of his intoxicated father. One night, the prestigitator finally comes to the conclusion that he needs to change drastically if he wants to gain his child's respect and raise enough money to promise him a bright future. It's time for him to come back on stage and do what he does best: magic. What seems like a good idea will eventually lead him way beyond his own endurance and destroy all the humanity he has left.
The storyline here is very simple, but it is so poignant you cannot stop yourself from looking at the screen. Francis might be a truly pathetic man, the path he decides to take in the name of his son makes him a unlikely anti-hero. As the film goes on, he slowly becomes a very likeable character. The actor impersonating him is a real-life magician and gives hands down one of the best performance of 2008. When he's sober, Francis Bosco is very calm and friendly, but when he starts to drink, he turns into a screaming human monster to whom you cannot show any sympathy. The character is very complex and it needed a capable actor to bring him to life and remaining natural. Considering Bosco is not a professionnal actor, this is a real achievement. Playing the son, Jathisweran is also impressive. He gives a mature performance and is capable of holding many scenes on his shoulders.
The magic tricks in the film are fantastic. You won't see any bunnies, but realistic and disgusting human tortures. Francis swallows razord blades and fire balls, pierces his skin with needles and lies down on broken glasses. During those scenes, the camera doesn't cheat by cutting on the audience's reaction, proving us that the tricks are indeed «real.» We have the impression of being seated right next to the scene where the magician does all those atrocities. Because you simply cannot find out how Francis does all those illusions, you squirm and sometimes even cover your eyes. When I saw it at the WFF, some people even walked out ! To give you a good idea, it's pretty close to what you can find in a mondo documentary. Putting those scenes in the film's context make them even more difficult to absorb.
Too bad the film falls sometimes in heavy melodrama. The scenes where the kid talks to his dead grand-mother are very cliché and feel like lazy screenwriting. The sad music doesn't help either. Luckily, Khoo only uses them at the beginning of the movie. Do not let those scenes stop you from a very moving experience.
My Magic is a small movie, but it almost has the grandeur of a masterpiece. Essential and magical !
