THE
MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE (2018)
Starring
Adam Driver, Jonathan Pryce, Joana Ribeiro, Olga Kurylenjo, Stellan
Skarsgard, Jordi Molia, Oscar Jaenada. Directed by Terry Gilliam.
(132 min).
ON
BLU-RAY FROM SCREEN MEDIA
Review
by Fluffy the Fearless😸
The
Man Who Killed Don Quixote was finally released in 2018, a minor
miracle unto itself. Director Terry Gilliam had been trying to get
the damn thing made for 25 years, only to be continually thwarted by
development hell, false starts, budget problems, legal issues,
natural disasters, cast changes and no-small-amount of his own
obsessiveness. The tumultuous production was even the subject of a
feature-length documentary...in 2002.
Though
he kept busy making many films in the interim, Gilliam is probably glad
to finally scratch this particular itch...if nothing else, just to
spite everyone who turned his labor of love into a decades-long
debacle. Some of you reading this might be asking if it was worth the
all the trouble, which isn’t really a fair question. The
Man Who Killed Don Quixote will
probably never fully escape the shadow of its production history, and
that’s a shame because - baggage notwithstanding - this is
ultimately a very good film. Even great in parts.
 |
| "I like reading the naughty bits." |
It
helps, of course, if the viewer is already in tune with Gilliam’s
quirkier
tendencies, since
this modern day variation of Cervantes’
novel is a strange, surreal
and often funny
journey. Anyone
familiar with the director is
also aware he can be pretty
self-indulgent, unconcerned
whether or not others are
on-board. Because of their unique aesthetic, narrative approach and
abundance of dark humor, Terry Gilliam films could
be considered their own little genre.
Viewed in that context,
this is his best work
since 12 Monkeys.
That’s
not to say The Man Who Killed Don Quixote isn’t without its
issues, the main one being that it’s overlong. The story also gets
off to a shaky start, with commercial director Tobi Grisoni (Adam
Driver) embodying just about every burned-out-genius cliché we’ve
ever seen. In fact, these early scenes don’t even feel like they
belong in a Gilliam film. However, once Tobi visits the village where
he once made a student film about Don Quixote, the film really takes
off, both visually and narratively. He’s reacquainted with the
elderly cobbler he cast in the lead (Jonathan Price), who has since
become convinced he is Quixote and thinks Tobi is Sancho
Panza. Several amusing circumstances have the two of them ending up
on an episodic series of bizarre adventures, which eventually
includes trying to rescue Angelica (Joana Jaenada), the young girl he once cast in the same
film, now working as an escort for a
vicious Russian magnate.
 |
| Why Adam Driver insists on a no-nudity clause in his contract. |
That’s
the nuts & bolts plot, but what makes it memorable is Gilliam’s
penchant for blurring the line between fantasy and reality.
Lavishly-produced, the film is alternately dark and whimsical,
bolstered by interesting characters and some wonderful moments that
unexpectedly transition into the surreal. Most importantly, the
journey ends up being lot of fun, something this writer hasn’t been
able to say about a Terry Gilliam film in a long time.
Ironically,
for a movie with such a torrid past, this Blu-ray features no
substantial bonus features covering its history. Perhaps that’s
intentional, since enough has already been written and said about it.
Besides, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote deserves to be enjoyed
on its own merits. It may not rank among Terry Gilliam’s best work,
but it’s a fine reminder that he's got some juice left in the tank.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
5
FEATURETTES - “Locations”; “The Nose”; “Production Design”;
“Costumes and Make-Up”; “Working with Terry Gilliam” (These
are all promotional featurettes running 1-3 minutes each).
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS.
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