The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

How I adore the darkly mysterious vortex that is a Terry Gilliam film! The one-time animator/Monty Python troupist has created a truly vibrant, eccentric collection of cinema, each denoted by far more than the actual images. For all of the creativity we see onscreen, there are volumes more that our own mind's eye conjures. You might say that a Gilliam movie fires the imagination, not merely a flicker or spark, but rather a lit match tossed into a fireworks store.

What we do see usually involves a manic burlesque of misfits, forging on some grand quest of imposing magnitude. Everymen (BRAZIL, TWELVE MONKEYS) and unusual creature (THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN, FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS) alike are mired in figurative and often literal labyrinths of mystical opposition before the catharsis is reached. It is not always a happy ending. For that and many other reasons, a Gilliam film will not appeal to everyone. Many may be initially lured by the cartoonish imagery and atmosphere, but will bolt as they realize that the films themselves are often as whacked as the protagonists. A fractured point of view makes many a filmgoer perplexed or uncomfortable. For many others, a Gilliam film is an unpleasant experience because one is almost tangibly subjected to the same madness. Like someone is physically toying and/or torturing you. Truly a vicarious ride. Watch FEAR & LOATHING and tell me differently. It was one of the few times I felt the need for a vomit receptacle while seeing a movie (I suppose I should review that movie separately; I can tell you now, that won't be pretty).

THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS fits nicely in the Gilliam ouvre. It contains all the elements that make his films so distinctive. I thought of every other of the director's works while I watched it. Perhaps that was the idea. The titular main character, wonderfully played by Gilliam vet Christopher Plummer, is a dreamer who lives to spin amusing yarns for whomever will listen. Most of the time, that audience number can be counted on one hand. Remind you of anyone? Dr. Parnassus travels London town in a ramshackle truck fit with a stage and crampled living quarters. His daughter, a dwarf, and a young sprite are his accomplices, nightly dressing up and offering a low rent cabaret to passersby. The truck stops in front of bars, lonely alleyways, grocery store parking lots. A few coins land in the tattered hat. Most pay the whole affair little mind. But there is a mysterious mirror on the stage, one where the curious may tread.....

One fateful evening as the troupe trudges toward their next performance, a young man named Tony (Heath Ledger) is discovered hanging by a noose under a bridge. Funny, that's what the card in Dr. Parnassus' deck just revealed. Funny also that about this time, we keep seeing a dark figure called Mr. Nick (Tom Waits), malevolently whispering to the old doc. In fact, we learn that Parnassus and Nick are both very old, with a centuries perpetuating tete-e-tete that will figure prominently in the story. Tony is found to be still alive and rescued by the motley crew. Before long, he is part of the road show, becoming quite valuable as he has a knack for persuasion. Soon droves of folks (mostly fawning women)rush from their errands to watch the actors prance around and spout profundities. Tony brings new vitality to the proceedings, perhaps something that is also foretold, somewhere.

Then there's that mirror. All customers who dare enter find themselves in another dimension, a place erected out of their own desires. Pub crawlers find a tempting saloon. Middle-aged, overly lipsticked matrons find themselves in a land of high heels and young gondoliers. This inner world reminds the viewer perhaps of Willy Wonka's funhouse, especially as there is always some nasty trap to reward gluttony and avarice. There to collect on the hefty tab of sin is none other than Mr. Nick. Seems the man always infiltrates Parnassus' domain. Perhaps one of the old souls cannot exist without the other?

The tug of war between Nick and Parnassus involves the collection of souls, and the mirror is a portal through which the harvesting occurs. To describe more, the wondrous visions which await the comparatively few viewers who see PARNASSUS, would be a sin, indeed. What happens on the other side of the glass will reveal true identities, motives, the basest of the underlying. The subconcious (or "unconcious" as the more academic among us like to call it) will unfold in glorious Gilliamity. We'll also discover how the director was able to employ the likes of Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell to step in for Ledger, who passd away mid-production. Aiding and abetting on the screenplay is Charles Mckeown, who also co-penned earlier Gilliams like BRAZIL and MUNCHAUSEN. More than just Baroque art direction is shared with those earlier films.

The implications of the storyline- of fate, mandate, the divine and the downtrodden perhaps once divine, will be a field day for those seeking allusions in their art. Theologians, for starters, will find much to connect. Plenty of Old Testament evocation here. Some of the fantastic stories in the OT do share a bit with Gilliam's visions, come to think of it. Generous dallop of Job here. Folks familiar with contemporary British politics may see some curious parallels. There is also a starting point with the very name, "Parnassus", both a mountain in Greece and a mythological god namesake ("Parnassos"). There was a mighty flood associated with Parnassos. Ah....

Some have criticized the director for concocting movies that work more intellectually than emotionally (especially BRAZIL and TWELVE MONKEYS). I always find, conversely, a great howl of pain behind each Gilliam protagonist. FISHER KING's Parry, BRAZIL's Sam, and many others fight personal demon and external evil alike in their fight for sanity and peace. The antagonist may be a bureacracy, a sword wielding assassin, a virus, but it is just as often the protagonist himself (apparently, TIDELAND's protagonist is a girl but I've yet to watch that one). The films' plots are often twisty roads, sometimes with very little linearity (FEAR & LOATHING). But always heartfelt, even if the chilly winds seem to wash over everyone when the credits roll. As if (seemingly) evil wins out. Check: TIME BANDITS, BRAZIL et al.

Does that happen this time? Not saying. But behind the scenes, there was great heartbreak at the loss of the amazingly talented Ledger. In fact, in a move quite uncharacteristic for someone known as an artist autocrat, Gilliam credits this film as, rather than "A Terry Gilliam Film," instead, "A Film From Heath Ledger and Friends".