■ moviereview Like magic ‘The Illusionist’ and the appeal of classic animation. n Remember when cartoons weren’t afraid to be cartoons? The likes of Pixar and Dreamworks have revolutionized animation over the past 15 years; the former not only through its visuals, but its storytelling ambition. The polish of “Up” or “The Incredibles” lends to their appeal. Elementally, though, the viewer can sense that the digitally born wonders onscreen are literally untouched by human hands. They are wholly synthetic creations in which anything like a flourish must first be measured and calculated. You still cannot hug a pixel. Then we have a tone poem such as “The Illusionist” (“L’illusionnist,” en Français). The hand at work here is the same as in “The Triplets of Belleville,” directed by Sylvain Chomet and Oscar-nominated in 2003, as “The Illusionist” is now, for Best Animated Feature. Also like its predecessor, “The Illusionist” tells the story
of aging performers finding hardship in a modernizing world, and unfolds almost entirely sans dialogue. No subtitles here: The flitting ribbons of French that trail through the movie are as disposable as the smatterings of mumbled English. The animation of expression, of nature, of movement and particularly of animals is enthralling, evocative of graphite and watercolors. This is cartooning absent sass, lovingly drawn and painted — a children’s picture book in motion. An older magician, long in face and nimble in hand, finds himself scraping for work as the music halls of midcentury come to book rock acts. When he travels to a small Scottish isle for a gig at a village pub, he befriends a girl who insists on following him back to Edinburgh. There they split a hotel apartment — she in the bedroom, he crashing on the couch each night — and try to find their way through the city
CALENDAR
563-4218. TOBI FAIRLEY FINE ART, 5507 Ranch Drive, Suite 103: Jane Booth, large abstract oils. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Fri. or by appointment. 868-9882. n Beebe ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY: “The Power of Line,” pen and ink by Mary Shelton, Walter England Center art gallery, through Feb. 18. 501-882-4495. n Benton BOB HERZFELD LIBRARY: Paintings by Dena Teaster, Mary Beth Thorne and Hot Springs Village residents, through February. 501-778-4766. DIANNE ROBERTS ART STUDIO AND GALLERY, 110 N. Market St.: Work by Chad Oppenhuizen, Dan McRaven, Gretchen Hendricks, Rachel Carroccio, Kenny Roberts, Taylor Bellot, Jim Cooper and Sue Moore. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 860-7467. n Calico Rock CALICO ROCK ARTISTS COOPERATIVE, Hwy. 5 at White River Bridge: Paintings, photographs, jewelry, fiber art, wood, ceramics and other crafts. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Thu., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri.-Sat., noon4 p.m. Sun. calicorocket.org/artists. n Conway UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS, Baum Gallery: “Improvising Intaglio: Jiri Anderle Prints from the Baruch Foundation”; “Habitats: Portraiture by Kat Wilson”; “Earth: Fragile Planet”; “Intersecting the Book: When Artists, Writers and Graphic Designers Create 2D Worlds”; “Axis Mundi: Levittown,” UCA faculty exhibit, all through Feb. 24. 501-450-5793. n El Dorado SOUTH ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, 110 E. 5th St.: Shadows on the Road,” photographs of Arkansas interiors and exteriors by John Bridges, Merkle and Price galleries, through February. 870-862-5474. n Fayetteville FAYETTEVILLE UNDERGROUND, 1 E. Center St.: “Wood You Be Mine?” collages by Lisa Jo Outlaw; “Persona 2009-2011,” paintings by Drew Gentle; “Lewd,” collages by Jon Peven; “Ancestral Remnants,” photographs by Henry Turner, through February. Noon-7 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. www.fayettevilleunderground.blogspot.com. WALTON ARTS CENTER, Joy Pratt Markham Gallery: “Watermarks,” mixed media installation by Bethany Springer, through April 13. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 479-571-2747. n Helena DELTA CULTURAL CENTER, 141 Cherry St.:
Continued from page 23 GALLERY 26, 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Work by Julie Holt, Susanna Kirk, Fred Nash and Jason Smith, through March 12. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 6648996. HEARNE FINE ART, 1001 Wright Ave.: Stained glass by Charly Palmer, through March; “Pioneers of the Paint: Masters of the 19th Century,” paintings by Edward Michael Bannister, Charles Ethan Porter, Robert Scott Duncanson and Henry Ossawa Tanner, through Feb. 20. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. 372-6822. LAMAN LIBRARY, 2801 Orange St., NLR: “The Painted Word: Calligraphic Paintings by Charles Pearce,” through March 13. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 758-1720. LOCAL COLOUR GALLERY, 5811 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Paintings by Mary Lynn Nelson, February featured artist; art and jewelry by members of artists’ cooperative. 501-265-0422. M2GALLERY, 11525 Cantrell Road (Pleasant Ridge Town Center): Jason Twiggy Lott, William Goodman, Char Demoro, Cathy Burns and others. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 225-6257. RED DOOR GALLERY, 3715 JFK, NLR: Buddy Whitlock, featured artist, also work by Lola Abellan, Mary Allison, Georges Artaud, Theresa Cates, Caroline’s Closet, Kelly Edwards, Jane Hankins, James Hayes, Amy Hill-Imler, Morris Howard, Jim Johnson, Annette Kagy, Capt. Robert Lumpp, Joe Martin, Pat Matthews and others.10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 753-5227. REFLECTIONS GALLERY AND FINE FRAMING, 11220 Rodney Parham Road: Work by local and national artists. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat. 227-5659. SHOWROOM, 2313 Cantrell Road: Work by area artists, including Sandy Hubler. 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 372-7373. STATE CAPITOL: “Arkansans in the Korean War,” 32 photographs, lower-level foyer. 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat.-Sun. STEPHANO’S FINE ART, 5501 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Fused glass sculpture by Lisabeth Franco, paintings by Joy Schultz, Mike Gaines, MaryAnne Erickson, Stephano and Alexis Silk, jewelry by Joan Courtney and Teresa Smith, sculpture by Scotti Wilborne and Tony Dow. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun.
‘THE ILLUSIONIST’: The latest from animator Sylvain Chomet. as he struggles to put sausage on the table and to pull the occasional coin from behind her ear. Without much to say to one another, the illusionist and the girl don’t give the audience many deep glimpses into their relationship, and we’re left to assume that what they do share is mostly unspoken. She would have languished indefinitely on the isle, and he, while clearly losing his gusto for magic, has pulled off the trick of giving her a chance to imagine a richer life. The most memorable bit players here are the
hard-luck vaudevillians who also inhabit the hotel: a morose clown, a ventriloquist whose only friend is his lookalike dummy. Theirs is a shared story of the most pitiable loneliness, that of abandoned people whose sole aim was to bring joy to others. For the youngest children, accustomed to a heavier hand in explaining a story to them, “The Illusionist” may be a test of patience. But for those who can follow lighter brushstrokes, it may linger longer than the latest “Shrek” sequel. — Sam Eifling
“Nothing but the Blues,” watercolor portraits by Laurie Goldstein-Warren, through May. n Hot Springs BLUE MOON GALLERY, 718 Central Ave.: Mosaic glass by Cassie Edmonds, including equine-themed work, new sculpture by Wayne Summerhill and Diana Ashley. 501-318-2787. FINE ARTS CENTER, 626 Central Ave.: Caddo River Art Guild, through February. 501-624-0489. GALLERY 726, 726 Central Ave.: Work by new members Priscilla Cunningham and Pati Trippel. 501624-7726. GALLERY CENTRAL, 800 Central Ave.: Paintings by Jan Gartrell and Sandy Hubler. 501-318-4278. JUSTUS FINE ART, 827 A Central Ave.: Paintings by Dolores Justus, Elizabeth Borne, sculpture by Robin Horn, and other work. 501-321-2335. STAR GALLERY, 610 A Central Ave.: Paintings by Jeff Bertrand. 2-5 p.m. Wed.-Thu., noon-5 p.m. Sat., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 501-786-0283. n Perryville SUDS GALLERY, Courthouse: Paintings by Dottie Morrissey, Alma Gipson, Al Garrett Jr., Phyllis Loftin, Alene Otts, Mauretta Frantz, Raylene Finkbeiner, Kathy Williams and Evelyn Garrett. Noon-6 p.m. Wed.-Fri, noon-4 p.m. Sat. 501-766-7584. n Russellville RIVER VALLEY ARTS CENTER, 1001 E. B St.: 24th annual “CenturyLink Collegiate Art Exhibition,” through February. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 10 a.m.4 p.m. Fri. 479-968-2452. n Springdale ARTS CENTER OF THE OZARKS, 214 S. Main St.: “Boundless Color: Pure Expression,” paintings by Heidi Carlsen-Rogers; “From Where I Stand,” photographs by Christina Neal; both through Feb. 25. 479-751-5441.
Albright,” Eclectic Collector show, through March 14. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $2.50 adults, $1.50, $1 children for tours of grounds. 3249351. MacARTHUR MUSEUM OF ARKANSAS MILITARY HISTORY, MacArthur Park: “In Search of Pancho Villa,” artifacts from soldiers of the period, medals and original sketches of the Mexican Punitive Expedition, the United States retaliatory action in 1916 against the Mexican general who attacked a small border town in New Mexico, through May; “Warrior: Vietnam Portraits by Two Guys from Hall,” photos by Jim Guy Tucker and Bruce Wesson, through April; exhibits on Arkansas’s military history. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat., 1-4 p.m. Sun. 376-4602. MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER, Ninth and Broadway: “Southern Journeys: African American Artists of the South,” works by 55 AfricanAmerican artists, including Romare Bearden, David Driskell, Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett, Hughie Lee-Smith, Leroy Allen, Benny Andrews, Radcliffe Bailey, Richmond Barthé, Beverly Buchanan, Clementine Hunter, Faith Ringgold, Charles White and Dean Mitchell, through Aug. 11; exhibits on African-Americans in Arkansas, including one on the Ninth Street business district, the Mosaic Templars business and more. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.Sat. 683–3593. MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY, 500 President Clinton Ave.: “Illusion Confusion,” optical illusions, through March; interactive science exhibits. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. Admission: $8 adults, $7 children ages 1-12 and seniors 65 and up, children under 1 free, “Pay What You Can” second Sunday of every month. 396-7050. www. museumofdiscovery.org. WITT STEPHENS JR. CENTRAL ARKANSAS NATURE CENTER, Riverfront Park: Exhibits on wildlife and the state Game and Fish Commission. n Calico Rock CALICO ROCK MUSEUM, Main Street: Displays on Native American cultures, steamboats, the railroad, and local history. www.calicorockmuseum. com. n England TOLTEC MOUNDS STATE PARK, State Hwy. 165: Major prehistoric Indian site with visitors’ center and museum. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun., closed Mon. $3 for adults, $2 for ages 6-12. 961-9442.
MUSEUMS, ONGOING EXHIBITS
ARKANSAS INLAND MARITIME MUSEUM, NLR: Tours of the USS Razorback submarine. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 1-6 p.m. Sun. 371-8320. CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSEUM VISITOR CENTER, Bates and Park: Exhibits on the 1957 desegregation of Central and the civil rights movement. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily. 374-1957. HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM, 200 E. Third St.: “Signs and Signals: Claire Coppola, Michael Davis Gutierrez and Marilyn Nelson,” mixed media, through May 8; “Game Face Rituals,” paintings by Liz Nobel, through April 3; “Model Trains of Bill
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