Nothing entertains more than a good old film about a subculture. Think of just about any obscure topic, and you know there will be a passionate fan-club somewhere amongst your Google hits. Such it is with teen magic…
Nothing entertains more than a good old film about a subculture. Think of just about any obscure topic, and you know there will be a passionate fan-club or convention somewhere amongst your Google hits. Such is so with a little pocket of the world known as teen magic; unthought of to the general masses, there exists a group of passionate eccentrics practicing hard to be the world’s best.
Mixing a group of classic overachievers and underdogs, J. Clay Tweel’s Make Believe follows six budding teen magicians as they prepare for the prestigious World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas, as they compete for the title of Teen World Champion. The film is a coming of age for sure, and piles talent, charisma, and extreme competition atop a very normal search for self. As if being a teenager wasn’t hard enough.
There is Derek McKee, the awkward and sweet small-town boy; Hiroki Hara, shy and enigmatic (perhaps brilliant); Siphiwe Fangase and Nkumbuzo Nkonyan, the spirited and dedicated natural-born leaders from South Africa; Bill Koch, cocky and (annoying) outspoken Chicago boy, and Kirsten Lambert, the Britney Spears of magic (whether she likes it or not), with her predilection for control and perfectionism. Add to that nine-hour practices a day, and mantras like the goal is excellence, nothing less and you’ve got yourself a full-blown hobby which will leave you extremely popular, and friendless all at once.
Resounding with all the subtleties of a competitive magician stereotype, Make Believe will give the audience room for a smirk or two, as characters such as Bill Koch bounce around the stage like a motivational speaker – glitter, streamers and CDs exploding out of a stereo blasting out sandstorm. And while entertaining, certainly; endearing for sure, there yet lies a somewhat sombre reality for each of the characters as they struggle in their search for identity and place. One gets the sense that such extreme devotion is isolating; that in any competition it gets lonely being up so high. The beautiful Kirsten identifies as such with outer space as her home. Behind her all-American smile is a marked frustration in one scene, as she is told: “your breasts will get you to the top” (not Diana Zimmerman’s best moment on camera).
While each character has their own unique take on the world, perhaps it’s the blind passion itself we are drawn to, and in fact crave for ourselves. Yet despite the intrigue of double-hand shells, circular fans and four card stars being mildly attractive, the reality of nine hours a day with a pack of cards leaves one quite happy in blissful ignorance in the comfort of a cool movie theatre (just call them nerds- it will help you feel better about your own underachievement in life). So while you may continue to debate the reality of matter bending and disappearing acts, you can be certain that there are such things as magic geeks, and they will make you smile.
Part of the Documentary Edge Festival. For details please see www.documentaryedge.org.nz
By Emma Schoombie, 2 February 2011.
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