Nothing is what it seems|Aug. 18, 2006|United States, Czechia|110 Min.|PG-13
Genre: Drama;Fantasy;Romance;Thriller
Description: The Illusionist, a 2006 film, tells the story of Eisenheim, a magician in Vienna during 1889, under the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Arrested during a performance involving necromancy, Chief Inspector Walter Uhl recounts Eisenheim’s life to Crown Prince Leopold.
Born to a cabinet-maker, Eisenheim developed a passion for magic. He fell in love with Sophie, the Duchess von Teschen, but their relationship was forbidden due to his peasant status. Despite their secret meetings, they were forcibly separated. Eisenheim traveled the world to study magic, returning to Vienna fifteen years later to perform. During a show, he reunited with Sophie, now engaged to Leopold, who was rumored to be cruel toward women.
Leopold invited Eisenheim to perform privately at the palace, where Eisenheim publicly humiliated him, resulting in a ban on his performances. Sophie approached Eisenheim afterward, and they became intimate. He urged her to flee with him, but she feared execution. She revealed Leopold’s plan to overthrow his father, Emperor Franz Joseph I.
Later, Sophie attempted to end her engagement at the Mayerling hunting lodge. The next morning, her body was found in the Vienna Woods, with an unidentified man accused of her murder. Heartbroken, Eisenheim began a new series of performances focused on summoning spirits. When he conjured Sophie’s spirit, she accused someone in the audience of her murder, unsettling Leopold. Despite efforts to arrest Eisenheim for fraud, he avoided jail by admitting his illusions were not real.
Cast director: Neil Burger
Cast actor: Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel, Rufus Sewell, Eddie Marsan, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Eleanor Tomlinson, Jake Wood, Tom Fisher, Karl Johnson
Original name: The Illusionist