THE ILLUSIONIST - CINEMA NOVA, CARLTON.

Bringing to life Jacques Tati’s unproduced original script, the void between magic and reality reconciles in French director Sylvain Chomet’s latest animation feature, The Illusionist.

Loosely autobiographical of Tati’s own stage career, this melancholic comedy documents the journey of Tatischeff, a classic French magician. Having captured the adoring youthful eye of Alice, a Scottish pub-worker, the pair travels to Edinburgh where Tatischeff’s mystical antics are challenged by post-war commercialism. As the disbelieving, new-age consumerist attitude threatens his career, Alice’s ever-growing materialistic desires also strain Tatischeff’s ability to craft fantasy from their bleak surroundings. 

At once inspiring, challenging, enlightening and heartbreaking, Chomet’s work is fantastically mystifying yet grounds itself in tragic realism. There’s a sheer magic in the nostalgic, fluid artistry of Chomet’s hand-drawn animation. However, it is in the detailed movement and abstract bleets of communication between his alien characters that Tati’s story flourishes as an utterly mature tale of displacement, reality and coming-of-age.

The Illusionist, directed by Sylvain Chomet – now showing exclusively at Cinema Nova, Carlton. See http://www.cinemanova.com.au/session_times.html for session times.

DREAMERS SHOWCASE - GRACE DARLING HOTEL

For someone who has long over-indulged in the secret pride of discovering a budding musical gem before they hit the big time, I’ve been ashamedly lazy of late when it comes to doing so.

But my motivations took a change of pace last week in anticipation of the debut showcase of new Melbourne band, Dreamers.

This seven-piece presented their eclectic style for the first time, consolidating a myriad of genres in the one that best lends to them all: pop.

Fusing the funk and soul styles of home-grown Melbournians with the flavours of nomadic international multi-instrumentalists, the compounded talents of this group are as culturally interesting as they are aurally refreshing.

Dreamers candidly samples sounds from the world-over. They paradox nostalgic songwriting elements with contemporary individuality, cultivating their sound to nouveaux-pop perfection.

Dubbed the “brains” of the project, Josh Hardy’s style pays homage to the fundamentally catchy and instantly likeable melodies of pop. Crafted into beautifully poetic phrases, his lyrics harness a fluency and expressiveness that swells over the infectious rhythms of Dreamers’ already refined style.

 “Don’t Wait For Me” has a lyrical playfulness that bounces off the poignancy of the rich, percussive beat and becomes more insightful with each hypnotic repetition of the chorus.

“John & Paul”, penned by lead guitarist and vocalist Matt Nicolas, was another notable for me. Whilst it may not be about the J & P that initially spring to mind, this soulful story of Nicolas’ ancestors is a tale of brotherly love, loss and remembrance – underpinned, coincidentally perhaps, by some genuinely Beatles-esque vibes.

Marking the revival of the saxophone in contemporary pop, Philipp Karajev’s samples beautifully accentuate Nicolas’ passionate and crowd-pleasing lead vocals.

Nurtured by months of jamming, demo-ing and instinctively plucking new Dreamers off the streets, this band has a passion and contagious enthusiasm that resonates organically onstage. If an almost sold out roomful of people collectively enthralled by the energy seeping from band members themselves is not enough to go by, then take my word for it that my little white girl booty-shake and dashboard-puppy dog head bop formed an uncontrollable groove I would ordinarily never allow to be inflicted upon the public.

It may have been a bit corny at the time, but Karajev abashedly closed the show with the following: “We are Dreamers... and we hope you are too” –in hindsight, a perfect ending to an enticing, enchanting and exciting debut.

[Images: Isaac Panaretos Photography - http://isaacpanaretos.com/2011/07/19/dreamers-at-the-velodrome/]

Dreamers - Grace Darling Hotel - July 28, 2011 - Josh Hardy, Matt Nicolas, Tyler Millott, Corey Schneider, Philipp Karajev, Nigel Moyes, Bodhi Zapha - http://www.facebook.com/dreamersmusic