The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Five stars, that’s all there is to it. It's rare to see something like this in my commentary, but: A person who was bored by The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, disappointed by it, or bored and disappointed together, simply has no imagination, can't think about the film and doesn't want to dream. There. Imaginarium is great - every second, every shot, it oozes typical Gilliam, whose magical world I could recognize even blindly. It's commonplace that this American Python doesn't miss the mark even when choosing actors - here he hit the mark again. Several times. Ledger, Depp, Law and Farrell were all great. A charming Lily Cole, and Christopher Plummer, who has no problem looking homeless in one shot and like a dignified magician in the next... And last but not least, Tom Waits, one of the best devils of the film world. I applaud you all. And I wish Terry Gilliam would never stop telling stories (we know how important that is for the world, don't we?).__P.S. The released DVD offers (by today's lousy standards) an unprecedented portion of interesting bonus features. But the radio interview with Heath Ledger ("I'm going to finish shooting the new Terry Gilliam movie in three weeks") made me feel pretty damn anxious. (08/07/2010)

There is nothing against heating in the wide-ranging imagination, but the story must not be forgotten. Terry Gilliam stubbornly creates "in his own way" to the point where his regularly repeated formula for the end begins to slowly but surely irritate me against the majority of usual rules. The inventive first hour and the likable main characters against the backdrop of the right mystical plot are wasted when it starts to get entangled, change sides, and overturn archetypes. I can understand why such surprises are successful with the audience, but a great cinematic experience did not occur on my side, despite multiple acting performances by Ledger and his alter-ego or the beauty of Lily Cole. (04/30/2010)

I treated myself to another viewing of a film I saw years ago when my world was still all right. It only confirmed my belief that Terry Gilliam is a true visual artist. Admittedly, I wasn't looking forward to rewatching it, remembering that the story went slightly over my head. It turns out that I just needed to age for it like fine liquor. Nothing threw me off, confused me, or annoyed me this time, and I could enjoy this fantastic, wild ex-Python ride to the fullest without being distracted by a lot of unanswered questions. If the casting of four actors as Tony hadn't been a bare necessity and a last-ditch move, it would still have been a great idea, perfectly suited for this wacky film. My personal favorite was Tom Waits as Mr. Nick. It was a weird film, no question about it, but if you know Terry Gilliam's work, you know that it could have been a lot more bizarre. I simply had to increase my rating after all these years. / Lesson learned: I strongly don't recommend gambling with the Devil. (10/22/2022)

I have one unpleasant memory from the film "Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus", which is why I didn't see Johnny Depp in the movie. Yes, I mainly went to see the film because of Heath, who did not disappoint. I like how Gilliam dealt with the unfortunate situation. All the actors did incredibly well, and visually the film is unbelievably interesting, but that was to be expected from Gilliam. The screenplay does lag a little, but you go into it knowing that it will be more of an artistic experience rather than a popcorn flick. (01/06/2014)

What does it matter that the visuals are so charming and interesting when, story-wise, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is an utterly weak spectacle that, after a promising first half hour, gradually lost my sympathy until it stopped at the freezing point? At least the stars are visibly enjoying their participation, although I would be a thousand times happier if none of them had to help Terry Gilliam and Heath Ledger was still among us. More or less only for him, for Johnny Depp and for Jude Law I give the two stars (I don't mention Farrell, because I couldn't watch that long)... (09/22/2012)