The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Terry Gilliam is without a doubt one of the most visionary directors of our time. Among his films my favorites would have to be: FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, TWELVE MONKEYS, and BRAZIL. Unfortunately I never got into the Monty Python series, and to be honest I probably wouldn’t love them either. I don’t really go for that British humor. This film stars the late departed Heath Ledger in his film acting role before his death at 27. And that number is substantial – a lot of key people in this world have departed at the age 27: Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison to name a few. I’m only 24, so luckily I have a few more years to become famous and then have a timely and highly anticipated death at the ripe age of 27.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Trailer

I really, really enjoyed this film. It was definitely a Terry Gilliam joint. And with that said, if you’re not a fan of Gilliam’s work you probably will not enjoy this cinematic experience at all. Just like my wife, who got up and left 27 minutes in. Granted it was getting late and she had to get up earlier than I, but she watched TV in the bedroom instead of sleeping. Enough with that.

This film is an awesomely stunning, visually arresting cinematic experience. The new worlds that are created once the people enter into Doctor P’s imaginary are extraordinary and worthy of much credit to the production and direction team. They feel straight out of children’s pop-up story book and they only become better as the film progresses. That is probably the strongest part of this film.

The acting is good, but not incredible. Poor Heath has had much better performances throughout his career, but he is still very effective in this role. I don’t want to hurt his memory or reputation, and who am I to judge? It was interesting how they filled in the story with different Tonys (Heath’s character) while they were inside of the imaginary worlds. I was wondering how they were going to still use principle footage with Heath and finish out the story – because Heath did die during shooting. The film is still a little crazy and hard to follow, but honestly now – IT’S A TERRY GILLIAM FILM! Watch BRAZIL first and then you’ll know if you’re ready for this kind of film. Hopefully you are. I won’t discuss story, but it is epic. It revolves around a ageless deal/bet with devil, fantasy worlds, and sacrifice of loved ones. Watch it in blu-ray, it only adds to the surrealism of the experience.

Rating: 8.25/10