In the age of reality TV, this true-life chronicle about the efforts of teen magicians to make a name for themselves by winning a prestigious competition is not only trendy but heartfelt as well. The young cast of Make Believe are not your usual, annoying reality-show pests. These people are such a likeable bunch, you’ll be rooting for each and every one of them.
The documentary, directed by J. Clay Tweel, follows a group of talented teens who have set their sights on becoming the world’s next great magician. The magic teens ranch from 13-19 in age but they are all equally passionate and committed to their goal. The story focuses on five teens who have attained enough recognition and reached a level of talent that allows them to enter the World Magic Seminar, which culminates in a stage performance where the winner will be crowned as the world’s greatest teen magician.
The youngest of the group is Derek, from Colorado. At thirteen years old, Derek is a socially awkward boy who comes to life when he does his magic tricks. He doesn’t have many friends and magic fills a gap in his life. He is determined to become popular by winning the title of greatest teen magician.
Siphiwe and Nikumuzo are fromSouth Africaand always work as a team. They are an atypical addition to the contest because they are more comically oriented. Their style of performance tells a story, usually in a humorous way. They like to incorporate their love of football (soccer) into their show. They do less actual magic than the other competitors but they put on a great show.
Krystyn is a pretty, blonde 17 year old girl, who is an over-achiever in everything she does, including being student body president. However, as popular as she is, she wants to do something unique and finds magic allows her to create an identity that stands out from the crowd but doesn’t alienate her. As the only girl, she is advised by an older, female magician to “flaunt what she’s got” to stand out from the bunch.
Bill is the oldest at 19, and seems to be the most assured and comfortable of the group, although he is hard on himself when he makes a mistake. He has a unique style of replacing tradition playing cards with CDs, and doing a variation on traditional material. Bill, the son of a musician, had refused a musical scholarship to pursue magic instead.
The most interesting of the group is Hiroki from Japan. Hiroki lives in a small town, an hour from the nearest city, where they don’t even get cell phone reception. He saw a magician on TV once and decided to emulate him. A totally self-taught magician, Hiroki uses nature as his muse. He likes to buy assorted odds-and-ends to make unique props for his act and his family rents out a hall where he practices daily.
It’s touching the way the families are so supportive of the kid’s dreams. They help in any way they can and constantly encourage their children. Hiroki prays daily along with his family to find his destiny as a great magician. Krystyn is very closely bonded to her mother who is a single parent and cancer survivor. There are no bad guys or people to hate in this documentary.
All the kids are mature and intelligent. The sad part is that you know only one of them can win. Who will it be, and what will happen to the losers? We find that out in a ‘6 months later’ epilogue, showing us where the teens who didn’t win ended up. It’s too bad they all couldn’t win.
DVD Bonus Features
The extras include a series of character profiles about the contestants; Footage of the Q & A with the cast and director after the premier of the film; Interviews with veteran magicians, like Lance Burton; and a long section of “Magic Tutorials” which explains how some of the traditional magicians tricks are done.
"Make Believe" is on sale September 20, 2011 and is not rated. Documentary. Directed by J Clay Tweel. Written by J. Clay Tweel. Starring Bill Koch, Derek Mckee, Hiroki Hara, Krystyn Lambert, Nicholas Saint Erne, Nkumbuzo Nkonyana.
