FANTASIA 2021: Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist
fantasia 2021While multiple anime directors outside of Studio Ghibli have risen in popularity and notability over the previous number of years, one has remained a distant oddity who demands respect and praise even if his name rarely comes up from general audiences. This man is Satoshi Kon. Largely because of the director's tragic passing in 2010, the director has started to have some of his iconic features such as Perfect Blue and Paprika rise up to the mainstream conversation due to their bold direction and layered messages but the director himself has largely missed out on the praise he clearly deserves.
Screening as part of the 2021 Fantasia Film Festival, Pascal-Alex Vincent's Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist looks to do the director justice by showing not just what Kon managed to accomplish within his films but also the impact he had on the filmmaking industry as a whole.
If there is one thing clear from Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist, it is the passion that Kon's work inspired in nearly anyone who viewed his works. From collaborators who worked alongside Kon to outside filmmakers such as Mamoru Hosoda and Jérémy Clapin, the film gives a voice to this passion that feels rather undeniable. For anyone who watches a Satoshi Kon project, an impact is felt and hearing these perspectives and how his works inspired others gives the audience a connection between their own feelings and a larger collective. It really does help sell the importance and size of the director's work and helps give the documentary a larger purpose beyond that of simply looking at the objective history of the director.
This is especially important within Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist, as the more detailed look at Kon's life is rather average. In a time where feature-length documentaries are being produced and published on sites like Youtube daily and podcasts are being dedicated to breaking down the careers of individuals like Kon with hours upon hours being dedicated to finding every sliver of nuance available, the film finds itself in an unfair environment. For any Kon fan who already has a decent understanding of how the director operates and what his films express, Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist sadly won't provide much new information and rather serves as a celebration rather than groundbreaking deep dive into his life and career.
This isn't to say the film is badly made in any way. The editing is smooth and engaging with clips of Kon's films being worked nicely into talking-head interviews and voiceovers giving the audience a visually rewarding viewing experience that helps enhance the emotions being expressed within the interviews. The pacing is also solid with every piece of Kon's filmography getting proper time without the film ever dragging. Sadly for the film, these are now expected as the fundamental achievements of the documentary genre so the film's proficiency simply doesn't feel as impactful or impressive as it would have even a decade ago.
Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist might be a more basic documentary but is ultimately still worthwhile. For both fans of Satoshi Kon wanting a clean and comprehensive celebration of his career or individuals who haven't seen much of his work but want to understand what makes him one of the best filmmakers of all time, Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist pays the director the respect he deserves and achieves everything it sets out to do.
