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Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018) in Movies
Aug 14, 2020
This has a great cast, notably Jonathan Pryce who is absolutely wonderful as Don Quixote. And surprisingly Adam Driver. I really don't like him as Kylo Ren but it appears it may be that particular character letting him down as I've loved him in everything else I've seen him in and especially this. He's a hoot. Sadly though I think the rest of the cast may be let down by the sheer wackiness and confusion of it all. And that's the main issue I had with this film, it's absolutely crazy and I didn't have a clue what on earth was going on for the most part. There are the odd funny quips and scenes (one with Oscar Jaenada dressed in a cupid outfit whilst brief gave me the biggest laugh of all), but for me these are few and far between and not enough. The ending is rather silly and fitting and the film overall looks good (even if some of it is in a cheap Monty Python-esque way), but I spent the rest of the film nearly pulling my hair out in frustration as to what the heck was going on and some of the dodgy weird camera angles didn't help. And that's not really something you want to feel while watching a film.
There's a scene towards the end of this film where someone says "try to keep up with the plot" and Adam Driver's character replies with "There's a plot?" - this exchange literally sums up the way I feel about this entire film.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018) in Movies
Jul 1, 2019
To say director Terry Gilliam has had a hard time getting some of his quirky films made, financed and released is an understatement for sure. Films like "Brazil", "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" or "Tideland" had their difficulties making it to the big screen. How about having the main star of your film die in the middle of production? He had that issue as well during filming of "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" when Heath Ledger passed away. Thanks to the help of Johnny Depp, Collin Farrell and Jude Law stepping in, the film was able to be released eventually.
Over the years I had kept up with Gilliam's repeated attempts to get the film financed and made including another time where he had cast fellow Python vet Michael Palin in the lead or even Robert Duvall was attached at one point.
The movie itself is a marvel of tenacity for Gilliam and I am very glad he was finally able to make it.
This final version of the film stars Adam Driver as troubled film director, Toby, and Jonathan Pryce as Don Quixote.
Toby is not thrilled about his current production and wanders back to the small Spanish town where he had met some of the locals and made a student film about Quixote 10 years earlier. He finds his "Quixote" living out a sideshow fantasy having lost his grip on reality thinking he is still Quixote today. Toby decides to launch an adventure with him through the Spanish countryside as his "Sancho Panza". Through their quests they encounter a multitude of interesting, wacky and outlandish characters who feed into the Quixote fantasy.
I have to say the film's look left me breathless. As with Gilliam's entire library of films, the production design, art direction and cinematography were astonishing really delving you into this larger than life world and helped move along some of the weaker elements.
Gilliam's goal with the screenplay was to adapt the classic Quixote story to be told under up to date circumstances and I'm not sure he completely succeeded. Some of the scenes and dialogue were boring and the movie's plot dragged at times. The mixing of world's was a little confusing and not sure the payoff entirely wrapped the story to conclusion.
Besides playing Kylo Wren, I am not sure Adam Driver will end up having a long career in film as I thought he was flat and not entertaining to watch as I am sure Depp would have been in the role. Jonathan Pryce was a joy to watch and every scene he was in he really stole the show.
It was fun to watch some elements from some of Gilliam's other work on display including the red knight from "The Fisher King", the sprawling landscapes from "Baron Munchausen" or "Time Bandits" and even the sideshow from "Parnassus".
Overall, I am glad I finally got to watch it as I am sure Gilliam was to finally film and release his long-awaited project. I guess I would say I was entertained, but felt like it fell short of being a true classic.