Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Man, we had these festivals packed, didn’t we?
Hi Moriarty: I'm not sure how you guys work, but I am under the impression that anybody can send you a film review. I've been attending the Mill Valley Film Festival, and have seen Taking Sides and Lost in La Mancha. Here's my Lost in La Mancha review, let me know if you are interested in Taking Sides.
If you use this, call me "Apollo."
As a work of fiction, Lost in La Mancha would be both a comedy and a tragedy. There are many superb comic moments in this film, and in many ways it is "Spinal Tap" with a film crew. The filmmakers are on location in Spain, attempting a film version of the novel Don Quixote. Johnny Depp and Jean Rochefort are signed on to the project, along with a brilliant if slightly eccentric director.
The director character, whose name I will come to in a moment, has a brain overflowing with ideas. Unfortunately, all of these ideas come with a price tag, and his budget leaves "no room for error." All seems to be going well, until the shooting starts. From that fateful day, the movie gods unleash a series of Biblical misfortunes on the project. These disasters would probably have crippled any movie, even one where the director's nickname wasn't "Captain Chaos." As the wheels come off the investors arrive, blissfully unaware that they are about to lose all their money. In the end, the heartbroken director is still sketching his ideas on a pad of paper as the wind roars past his apartment building, taking his dreams with it.
This is where the tragedy comes in. Looking at his sketches, it is clear that this man has a tremendous visual imagination. From the pieces of film that did manage to get shot, it is also clear that this guy knows exactly what Don Quixote should look like. His loss is also our loss. The director is so much in love with film making that it hurts. When he shoots a particularly good scene he giggles with delight, like a child who has just found the key to his parent's liquor cabinet.
This film has to be one of the best that I have seen this year. It is as dramatic and funny as anything that is currently in release. If you get a chance, go see this film. Oh, one more thing. Unlike Spinal Tap, this is real. This is not fiction, but a documentary. The director featured in this movie is Terry Gilliam. Unlike most "making of " documentaries I've seen, this is not just a puff piece to feed the egos of the cast and crew. This shows you things that most image sensitive film types would never let you see. It is a wonderful insight into the challenge of film-making, the enormous organizational difficulties involved and the many ways that things can go wrong. People in "the biz" might be too busy feeling sorry for Mr. Gilliam to appreciate the comedy in the chaos, but most should find this a richly entertaining film.
I can’t believe I haven’t seen this film yet. I’m a Gilliam freak, and I am eager to watch him work, something I find endlessly fascinating.
"Moriarty" out.
