The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

Need I tell you of the long, twisty history of THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE? Fans of writer/director Terry Gilliam have followed the "cursed" project for about twenty years, the beginning of which involved the participation of Jean Rochefort and Johnny Depp.  On set mishaps, financing woes, ill health of actors, you name it, it probably happened.  The genesis of the project went back even further, around the time of THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN, a film DON QUIXOTE resembles in several ways. Such a monumental failure was Gilliam's attempts the intended making-of feature became in 2002 a theatrically released documentary known as LOST IN LA MANCHA, a portrait of a man obsessed - perhaps only matched only by Coppola's jungle madness in HEARTS OF DARKNESS.  But at least Francis' film came to fruition, and became an invaluable piece of cinematic lore.

THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE, finally released stateside for one night this past April 10th,  may not join those ranks just yet.  But you know how these things go.  Time has created much legacy.  Many films regarded as "classics" were derided during their original releases.  Even by erudite film critics.  My first view of DON QUIXOTE was favorable.  I responded mostly to Gilliam's careful, wonderfully creative direction and all his otherworldly ideas.  This film has pieces of every other Terry Gilliam film within, though mostly from THE FISHER KING and MUNCHAUSEN.  Obvious imagery: jousting knights and madmen on quests, romping through impossibly meticulous sets.  The satiric stings of BRAZIL and even TIME BANDITS.  Hope for redemption. Criticism of bureaucracy.  Fantasy blurred with reality. The Phythoneseque sensibility remains.  But this is certainly Gilliam's most autobiographical film.

Adam Driver beautifully plays a director called Toby Grisoni.  He made a student film years ago in rural Spain.  It shares the name of this one.  Now he's back, nearby even, to shoot a commercial with the beloved Cervantes characters: Quixote and his loyal assistant Sancho Panza.  It is plagued with difficulty.  The boss' wife is coming on to him.  His much needed escape leads to a small town where he finds his original Don Quixote, an old man named Javier (Johnathan Pryce, wonderful) who believes he really is the guy.  After a large scale fire and scrape with the law, Toby finds himself riding with Javier, who also believes the former is his Sancho.  They will eventually find Aneglica (Joana Ribeiro), who starred in the old movie and whose life has taken a rather lurid turn.

This story differs from Gilliam's original idea, but time and hardship may have made it more valuable.  Is THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE Gilliam's 8 1/2? Is every frame a raspberry to Hollywood, to all those in the world of make believe? Especially those who have made his weird and wonderful journey a living hell? You can take this film as either a perfect swan song for this most eccentric of directors, or an at long last completion that should be moved on from.  I would hope for the latter, as I am a huge fan.  But if the former is true, it is an appropriate send-off, one sure to grow in stature as the years pass.