Film thoughts: Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.

Gilliam does it again with his newest trip into fantasy The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. The plot consists of Dr. Parnassus and how his traveling show, lives on forever for the sake of telling stories. However, this immortality was brought on by a deal with the devil (played hilariously well by none other than Tom Waits!) The deal consisted of how Parnassus can get the woman of his dreams, and have a daughter with her, if and only if, the daughter were taken by the devil on her 16th birthday. Around this time the devil appears and makes another deal with Parnassus. That if he attracts five souls to go on the "light" side of their imagination, Valentina (his daughter) is set free. If they succumb to Tom Waits (aka Mr.Nick), he takes Valentina.

After another disappointing show, they stumble upon a very eerie image of Heath Ledger's character (Tony) hung by his neck under a bridge. A jarring image to see with the knowledge of how his life ended. However it is quickly revealed that he is not dead. In this film, Tony is exactly how I would like to remember Heath Ledger, charming, fun, cunning, and only a little bit smarmy, but I mean that in a complementary sense.

Gilliam's films are notoriously full of problems. Heath Ledger passed during the production. Fortunately Gilliam handled this magnificently well. When the subjects go through this "mirror" which transports them into their respective imaginations. The genius behind this technique is when Tony enters their imaginations, he appears as reflection of the subject's fantasies. He is then played by Johnny Depp, Colin Firth, and Jude Law. All of their performances are "fantasy specific" and the viewers see what the woman's ideal imagination would see. This involves quite a bit of humor and is a vastly different experience per person. Terry Gilliam's saving grace is his playful form, and how it conveys the narrative. His imagination, fuels his beautifully crafted films. It is evident that his Pythonian past stills comes out, but now in well timed spurts.

Christopher Plummer excellently shows how tortured the character or Parnassus is. He was once a man who was amazed at the power of narrative and how it enthralls listeners, or viewers. But now, (after his immortality is realized) he sees that the stories he wants to tell, constantly trap him, and prevent him from truly living his life.

Overall, this charming meta-narrative, shows us that stories always intrigue us; from the older upper crust women, to wide-eyed young men. However we should still be able to live our own lives... let our own stories play out. Stories can make more sense to us then our lives can, but we should ultimately use them as a means to an to figure out the problems we encounter in our lives. Gilliam, I believe, could be saying (as cliche as it is) "seize the day" with this film. And although the quote stays the same, the way an artist states that makes it unique. Gilliam can do this especially well.


Jordan