Discuss Magicians: Life in the Impossible
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Kinda sad...
posted by Daddie0STAFFMOD on February 25, 2017 at 5:12 PM
There is no way this is accidental, but since the film takes an unblinking look at the reality of (a few) magician's lives, you can't help but feel the melancholy of their lives and careers. I say it's can't be accidental because the musical score reinforces the feelings you experience. But I have to ask: who wants to feel this sad? It's like watching a doc about clowns only to realize most are depressed. :)
Reply by theburbs
on February 25, 2017 at 5:17 PM
Yes, I felt the same way when I was watching this movie. I was attracted to it because I love magic, but the personal stories were, for lack of a better word, a downer. That poor guy who was engaged and then lost the girl, and that other guy who was basically living in a closet with two dogs. At least they had cool jobs?
If it helps, I saw this film at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto and a few of the magicians were there for a live Q&A, and they seemed pretty happy. The comedian whose engagement fell apart lost a bunch of weight after this movie and looked great. They did some magic tricks for us in the lobby and seemed genuinely happy performing for us. So hopefully things are looking up for all of them!
Reply by ViktorTempleton
on March 4, 2017 at 7:05 AM
I'm glad I found this site because IMDb shutting down their boards was really frustrating. Well, at least it was for people who actually enjoyed discussing movies, especially docs and smaller films.
I agree, this movie was darker than I was expecting. The magicians seemed to remind me a little bit of stand-up comedians, who often have a dark side to them as well. But I liked the honesty in the film. It had very real situations in it that you wouldn't see explored with the same kind of subtlety (or included at all) if it were a TV show, for instance.
I think any career where a livelihood depends on the ability to hustle and perform for a crowd is going to be more volatile in most every way. Compared to a salaried corporate job, it's almost the opposite. I don't think the guys profiled in this movie would do well in a 9-5 corporate environment anyway. Glad to hear they seemed happy at the festival.
Compared to a lot of docs, this one wasn't too big a downer. From my perspective, if the filmmaker(s) is(are) being honest and upfront with the material, any emotion that results should feel valid and true, which for me is fine, because that authenticity is why I enjoy documentaries. I appreciate that this film didn't try to create a dramatic arc that wasn't there, or otherwise manipulate the drama in a significant way. I thought is movie was well done.