The
Lost In The Shuffle documentary has now been released, and for just $4.99 you can stream it on demand on a variety of platforms:
- USA & UK:
iTunes/Apple TV, YoutTube, Microsoft/XBox, Fandango
- Rest of the World:
Kinema
It's also being screened at selected theaters. For direct links to the above, and for information about theater screenings, see:
https://www.lostintheshuffle.film/live-dates
I've watched the film and really enjoyed it. There's actually a lot going on, and the documentary ties together a number of different elements in a good way: playing card history, card magic, several big-name pro magicians, plus magician Shawn Farquhar travelling to various places. It's evident that the film-makers have poured a huge amount of time, effort, and love into making this film. Here's my review, with some of my impressions.
It was different than I expected, but in a good way. I was expecting the focal point to be a new theory by Shawn Farquhar about the meaning of the court cards, i.e. a documentary about playing card history. That was obviously a big part of the film. But what surprised me is how this story was constructed around card magic. In many ways it was more about card magic than about playing card history. And I loved that. The combination of different elements made it far more enjoyable to watch that I had anticipated.
Shawn Farquhar is the "narrator", and it's through his eyes that the story is told. He's the perfect person for this, because he is just bursting with energy, and his enthusiasm for playing cards and for card magic is infectious.
Along with Shawn is an impressive team of people. Take a look at these big names: Alexandria Duvivier, Juan Tamariz, Michael Vincent, and Richard Turner. Anybody who knows something about card magic will realize that there's some real experts here. Seeing contemporary greats in card magic like Juan Tamariz, Richard Turner, and Michael Vincent being brought together like this was amazing. I have great very high respect for all of them. Alexandria Duvivier isn't quite in their league, but she fits in fine.
The framework and structure of the film is put together well. I love how we join Shawn in meeting up with the four main magicians featured in the documentary, and with each of them there's a focus on a different plot in card magic. This is combined with the story about playing card history that he is digging up along the way. And all this is then capped off with a fun story-telling card magic routine at the end. That really helps hold everything together, and is done in a really lovely way.
Shawn's "thesis" about the playing card characters ended up having a much lower profile than I was expecting. In short, he suggests that the traditional court card designs we're familiar with today help solve the mysterious death of King Charles VIII, who died in 1498. He believes that the traditional `suicide king' (King of Hearts) represents King Charles, and that his death wasn't caused by bumping his head on a door frame as is usually believed, but the royal figure represented by the Queen of Spades was the villain that hastened his death.
It's probably a good thing that this storyline isn't laid on too thick, because the majority of playing card historians are unlikely to buy this theory. Personally I find it somewhat tenuous, because as some of the historians quoted in the film point out, there's no real evidence for it. Given the historical development of court cards, it's highly unlikely that a historical incident in a single setting would determine how court cards look all over France and around the world. Even Shawn himself often says things like "I believe this character is X" or "I believe this detail on the card is Y" with no real evidence for the connection.
But that's okay, but that didn't prevent me enjoying the film because of the other content. If this film was intended purely to be a documentary presenting an alternate version of playing card history, this would be a weakness. But there's a lot to enjoy independent of that, especially the card magic. And while Shawn's theory becomes the framework and background premise for the documentary, the film doesn't need it to be true in order to work. It's more of an artistic framework, and while it could be true, the film doesn't stand or fall on whether or not it is factual. When watched as something that is informative and entertaining first of all, this approach is acceptable, and it would be unfair for playing card purists and historians to criticize it too sharply simply because they don't believe Shawn's alternate theory to be credible.
In fact, the film-maker Jon Ornay demonstrates intellectual honesty by not presenting Shawn's view as "fact". Near the end he even includes some of the historian guys consulted along the way saying "I have no way of being able to support this thesis". To me, that just proves that the film works, regardless of whether or not the viewer is convinced by Shawn.
Does Shawn himself even believes the thesis he prevents? Probably. But we can't be entirely sure. He's first and foremost a magician. And magicians fool us. Is he perhaps using this whole story, just to lend legitimacy and historicity to the story-telling of his final routine? I wouldn't rule out a magician doing that, and I wouldn't put it past him to tell us about this "theory", when in reality what he's doing is just setting us up for the grand reveal and the storytelling routine in the end. If that's what is happening here, it's legitimate. But having said that, it is my understanding that he is serious about his theory, but fortunately the film can be enjoyed independent of how you personally feel about this.
Despite the above disclaimers about the historicity of Shawn's thesis about the identity of specific court cards, I did really like the section about the history of playing cards at the start. I've done a lot of reading and study on playing card history, and it seems to me that the quick tour we get of the overall history and development of playing cards is accurate, informative, and interesting.
Furthermore, a lot of the history that is explored and explained by Shawn about King Charles and his court is also historical and accurate. It's just the connection between this history and playing cards that is uncertain, as is Shawn's theory about the actual cause of Charles' death). Fortunately the film doesn't push this too far, and as a viewer it's left up to you to agree or disagree.
Other aspects of the filmmaking are also solid. The music is well suited and professional, and complements the visuals nicely. The graphics and illustrations are well done for the most part too. The animated parts of the film are one of the weaker aspects, but I can understand the need for them, and they function adequately.
Having French-speaking experts makes things a little harder to follow at times, given the academic and historical content of what they speak about. But obviously they are authorities on the subject, so it is good to hear them in their own words and language. And of course English subtitles are provided.
In short, I'm very pleased to see a documentary that does a nice job of making the history of playing cards interesting, and also gives us some intimate time with some fascinating personalities and some of the best card magicians in the world, and enjoy some fun card magic too. I'm pleased that "Lost In The Shuffle" has become more widely available and is now available for streaming, and I recommend checking it out if you can!
Where to find it:
-
USA & UK
-
Rest of the World
EDIT: Sort of! See below
And my pictures were incomplete! There is a full set of standard courts, the gaff card I posted, and two extra cards (also in the picture you posted) instead of ad cards
