'The Illusionist', The Movie of the Year?

'The Illusionist' opens in American cinemas on August 18, but it's already creating such a big buzz and is being heavily appraised that it's more than likely to become the movie of the year. If it can outtake 'The Pirates of the Caribbean', that is.

Seriously now, the movie could be given the distinction from the very start, considering that it's something completely different from what one can normally see on the big screen. Besides dealing with a tragic story of forbidden love, which remains a secondary plot, after all, the movie manages to combine historical drama, magic tricks and politics in a homogeneous ensemble that cannot but please the viewer.

But the most striking part of 'The Illusionist' is the mixture of images and the feel it manages to create during its 110 minutes of runtime. Everything is extremely accurate, from details, to costumes and attitude. Sure, seeing Edward Norton ride a horse and handle a sword can be a little disturbing and unbelieving at first (especially when having in mind his parts in 'Fight Club' and 'American History X'), but it all perfectly integrates in the atmosphere.

The movie is shot, almost in its entirety, in brownish colors, to match the turn-of-the-century Vienna setting, giving it an aspect of earlier photographs. Add to that the outstanding performances of Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Paul Giamatti and Rufus Sewell, and you've got yourselves one brilliant movie.

Many of us don't like spoilers, so we're not going to tell you more about the plot of 'The Illusionist'. But, if we succeeded in getting your attention, check out the trailer here.