Lost in the Shuffle – Hot Docs 2024

Magician Shawn Farquhar pieces together a 500-year-old murder case hidden within a deck of playing cards in Lost in the Shuffle. Two time world champion magcian Shawn Farquhar like performing card tricks, which tell a story. One such story is how the King of Hearts, typically known as the “Suicide King,” is actually depicting the murder of King Charles VIII of France. With the help of plots from fellow magicians Richard Turner, Michael Vincent, Alexandra Duvivier, and Juan Tamariz, Farquhar plans to piece together the details of the murder plot and perform a trick that tells the story at the scene of the crime.

Lost in the Shuffle Synopsis

Lost in the Shuffle is a documentary directed by Jon Ornoy, which a documentary about card magic, which also has a bit of a true crime element. Tracing patterns found on the court cards, Shawn Farquhar is led to Amboise, the home of King of Hearts, Charles VIII, who was reportedly murders by his wife Anne of Brittany, represented as the Queen of Spades. Farquhar's fellow magicians each introduce a different plot of the final trick, which will be performed in Amboise.

My Thoughts on Lost in the Shuffle

While featuring some impressive card magic, Lost in the Shuffle also works as a history lesson about how playing cards gained their modern design, which hasn't changed much in centuries. While it would be impossibe to verify this 500-year-old cold case murder mystery as being one hundred percent true, it is fun to go down the rabbit hole along with Shawn Farquhar. It is also amazing to observe how hard magicians have to work to develop their tricks, which involves learning to patterns of card checks and how no two shuffles are alike.

Trailer for Lost in the Shuffle – Hot Docs 2024