The Illusionist

The Illusionist was a well made, well performed movie with a stirring ending. It was a romantic story, with a near epic struggle between a man of ignoble birth, Eisenheim, and the crown prince, Leopold, for the love of a duchess, Sophie. Eisenheim’s strong love for Sophie drive him to use his magic in some very creative ways to fool the crown prince and escape with his life-long love. The magic he performs seems almost impossible given the historical setting, but a man with extreme ingenuity possibly could have pulled it off. The death scene reminded me more of a modern Hollywood style trick than a possible maneuver by a nineteenth century magician. The gullibility of people was much greater since they had not been exposed to so much modern special effects as we have.

In the end, the hero wins the maiden and the evil villain is thwarted, ruined and commits suicide. The death of the crown prince is portrayed in such a positive light, I found myself unconsciously applauding his demise. But after some reflection, I had to ask myself a few questions. Did Eisenheim know that the crown prince would commit suicide? Probably not. Is Eisenheim in some way responsible for his death? Probably. As a Christian, can I agree that his actions were noble and righteous? No. Would it be ethical for me to do a similar thing? No. While the crown prince was evil and threatened the happiness of both Sophie and Eisenheim, resorting to fraud and deception that ends in suicide is questionable at best.

So, I was reminded that I must be careful whenever watching a movie to evaluate my responses to the story and not just let the producer sway my thinking and feeling unchallenged. This is especially important for movies since film is such a emotional medium that has incredible power to influence our thinking. It is often not the rational arguments of teachers and preachers that shape our worldview and mindset but the popular culture, through music and videos. It is imperative that we challenge the messages we are receiving from our culture and subject them to scrutiny by the Word of God.