I've been eyeing this movie for a while, and I will be sure to rent it once it's available on iTunes!
Here's a nice description of the movie's premise from the NYT:
"Set in the late 1950s, the story opens on an unnamed French magician who is struggling to keep audiences interested in his old-fashioned sleights of hand. The bouquet tucked up his sleeve has become a gift that nobody seems to want. [...] The illusionist’s lonely gloom brightens when, while performing in a pub in an isolated Scottish village, he finds an appreciative audience of one in the form of a teenager, Alice." And thus the stage is set for the audience, who watch as their relationship (no, it's not like Lolita) develops.
Here are some reviews:
Roger Ebert
Four stars.
NYT
One of the things that attracted me most to this film was the artwork. The influence of hand-drawn animation is strong, as described in the article. "Mr. Chomet’s muted palette is beautiful, and his love for the 1961 Disney classic “101 Dalmatians” is evident in his gently exaggerated character designs (the father in “Dalmatians” and the illusionist have noble honkers), though he fills in his backgrounds, forgoing the strong, sketchlike lines that help give “Dalmatians” its modernist look."
