Intention
The film appeals to both, magicians who are already familiar with the story about Erdnase and everybody with a general interest in illusions. The viewers are offered a look behind the scenes of historical and contemporary magic. Thereby they get to the bottom of human curiosity. The movie raises a question of conscience: What is better – being ignorant and fascinated or being enlightened and disenchanted?
Another key element of the documentary is the process of creating legends. Erdnase is a perfect example for how people assign meaning to stories and individuals, even though having almost no information to go on. The viewers are encouraged to question what they believe to know about their own role models. How would one react if an adored idol turned out to be a malevolent or otherwise deeply flawed character?
Visuals
While the present-day search for Erdnase is shown in a documentary style, all flashbacks to the beginning of the 20th century are staged and scripted end to end. Archive footage will be used in moderation. The combination of Cinéma Vérité with elements of a heist-drama is especially highlighted on a visual level. The style of all scenes from the past is defined by high contrast images with a 16mm-film look. In contrast to that, all interviews and documentary sequences share the characteristically clean image of a digital camera. Since the audience should not get the impression that any illusions in the film are created with a computer, CGI is used as little as possible. Almost every effect which is necessary to visualise the story is created on set. Furthermore, great attention is payed to the historical accuracy of all reenacted scenes.
Behind the Scenes
Are you watching closely?