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Well, it's not aimed to be a comic movie, nor fully pathetic. I took it as a social movie, showing transition between living-artisanal art and industrial art. I really like the scene where the highland country pub gets the electricity and the illusionist immediately adapts, swapping flowers and rabbit for glowing lightbulbs. This makes you know he is a pro. Still, the honorific applauses make you feel the end of an era.
Yeah, the alpha/beta male point of view makes a funny outcome. But the magic patron / naive patronized is more interesting. She eats his money quicker than he can earn it, and she is his only believer making it clear no one cares, so he quickly gets that he is in an dead-end. He learns from her more than she does from him. Imagine the illusionist's life without her : would he have gone down like the clown (did he finally suicide ?) or the elegant ventriloquist drowning into alcohol ?
One other point of view is following each character.
Following the girl is of little interest. The script is quite clearly a "I wish you the best" from a father to a daughter.
Following the middle-aged man is (in my opinion of nearly middle-aged man :) a lot more interesting : he stays professional in every environment, he gets his situation, is okay for working night shifts in a garage but not for selling off his art. The way he quickly disappears when the girl gets into a relationship is a little troubling, but after his last advice we can guess he believes in her.
If you enjoyed the poetic rythm but want something more light and cheerful, I am really fond of "Les vacances de monsieur Hulot" by Tati (original script author of the Illusionist).
