THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: TERRY GILLIAM / SCREENPLAY: TERRY GILLIAM, TONY GRISONI / STARRING: JOSÉ LUIS FERRER, ISMAEL FRITSCHI, JUAN LÓPEZ-TAGLE, ADAM DRIVER, JONATHAN PRYCE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW (AUSTRALIA)
Terry Gilliam has always been a visionary filmmaker. He has an extraordinary back catalogue of films under his belt and is someone who has fought many ‘David and Goliath’-style battles against producers and studio heads and, of the most part, has always triumphed. The one time when that hasn’t been the case was with The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, but for completely different reasons. The production history of this particular film has been long, complicated, and by all accounts, something of a nightmare, before finally releasing after 29 years of gruelling development hell. Originally meant to be made in 1998 and starring Jean Rochefort and Johnny Depp, that particular production faced many problems due to Rochefort’s departure from the project due to illness, financing difficulties, and both the sets and equipment getting destroyed due to flooding. All of this was tragically portrayed in the documentary Lost in La Mancha, which brilliantly detailed how everything was literally falling apart around Terry Gilliam, but that didn’t stop him. He tried to get the project up again numerous times with different actors, most notably John Hurt who tragically passed away before filming could begin, but after securing financing and getting Jonathan Pryce and Adam Driver on board, Gilliam finally made his passion project, but was it worth the wait?
In many ways, this whole film kind of sums up a lot of Gilliam’s filmography, conveying much of the director’s recurring themes and tropes with many elements feeling very reminiscent of past projects. Like with nearly all of Gilliam’s films, this isn’t easy to enjoy or to get into (Tideland was a perfect example of that), but like all of Gilliam’s work, that makes this film all the more fascinating to watch other than its cursed legacy. This is a film about human madness, which is a theme that Gilliam has explored in depth before in films like Twelve Monkeys and The Fisher King, but this film’s also about the power of stories and imagination, as was previously explored in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and the deeply flawed The Brothers Grimm. It’s a story about youthfulness, creativity and both fantasy and reality coexisting with each other, plus like all other Gilliam films, it builds to a big third act that ends with a somewhat bittersweet farewell.
It’s a clever, witty, multilayered, if a little shambolic, screenplay that has plenty for audiences to digest and sink their teeth into, plus it’s helped by some pretty impressive performances. Having worked with Gilliam before and given some incredibly strong performances in films like Brazil, Jonathan Pryce gives a performance full of vibrancy and energy, yet with a touch of underlying tragedy and sadness at the same time. Complementing him so well is Adam Driver who brilliantly balances the line of narcissistic and empathy, providing the perfect deadpan quality to Pryce’s insanity.
It’s been a long journey to get here, but now it’s finally here, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is a brilliant personification of Gilliam’s entire filmography, capturing all the familiar themes and visual quirks that Gilliam has been famous for over the years. Gilliam has finally accomplished what he set out to do, it feels like the perfect conclusive film to Gilliam’s entire filmography. It might be rough around the edges and probably won’t connect with everyone, but if you’re a die-hard Terry Gilliam fan, then this is definitely worth the wait and watch.
