This movie may be confusing to many viewers. It has virtually no dialog, so everything is told through images and sound. Recorded and set in The Netherlands, the poor, rural family that is portrayed lives in a windmill instead of a regular house which may cause additional difficulty understanding the setting for international audiences.
The two main characters, teenage brothers, are played by adult actors, and both aren't named. (It's only in the ending credits that the viewer can see the main character is referred to "De Illusionist" and the other one's name is "Tjibbe".)
Some parts of the movie display the Illusionist's visions that smoothly cross back into reality, adding to the confusion.
Additionally, the movie was launched and promoted as a "hilarious comedy" for a large audience back in 1983 in the Netherlands, whereas in reality it is a dark art house style tragedy even though it contains slapstick, absurdist humour and occasional comedic sound effects.
The story is of a teenage boy (the Illusionist) living with his mentally challenged brother (Tjibbe), parents and grandfather. He dreams of becoming a magician and after the family visits a magic show, falls in love with the charming lady assistant who is unreachable to him.
Tjibbe is taken to a mental hospital after an accidental, unsuccessful strangling of the Illusionist, but out of brotherly love the Illusionist tries to rescue him multiple times from being lobotomised, while mother and father both go insane.
Even though this movie is comedic and confusing at points I found it profoundly emotional and cried two times. The family portrayed has a hard life living in poverty, jealousy with each other and with a mentally challenged son.
The Illusionist himself is a relatable teen boy with his hopes and dreams of becoming a magician, as he loses his father, brother and mother to insanity and death.
The slapstick jokes, sometimes accompanied by "comic" sound effects may distract from the story which at times is tricky to follow as it is interrupted often by scenes that don't add to the story, such as the Illusionist wandering the grounds of the mental institution encountering many weird characters.
The movie may require watching multiple times to fully get to grips with the artful, colourful dream sequences in which the Illusionist sometimes even watches himself from a distance.
The comedy is sometimes deadly funny, sometimes weak, and unfortunately reduces the drama and strong emotion of the story somewhat.
The movie ends by completing the dream sequence that it started with, leaving the viewer wondering what really happened and what was an illusion.
