Matt's Movie Reviews logo
HOME REVIEWS PODCAST FEATURES TOP TEN VIDEO TOP MOVIES MMR AWARDS ABOUT
Facebook logo Twitter logo Instagram logo YouTube logo RSS logo
Custom Search

THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE (2018)

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote poster

CAST
ADAM DRIVER
JONATHAN PRYCE
JOANA RIBEIRO
OSCAR JAENADA
OLGA KURYLENKO
SERGI LOPEZ
JORDI MOLLA
STELLAN SKARSGARD
JASON WATKINS

BASED ON CHARACTERS CREATED BY
MIGUEL DE CERVANTES Y SAAVEDRA

WRITTEN BY
TERRY GILLIAM
TONY GRISONI

PRODUCED BY
MARIELA BESUIEVSKY
AMY GILLIAM
GERARDO HERRERO
GREGOIRE MELIN

DIRECTED BY
TERRY GILLIAM

GENRE
ADVENTURE
COMEDY
FANTASY

RATED
AUS:NA
UK:NA
USA:NA

RUNNING TIME
132 MIN

 

 

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote image

Wavering between reality and fantasy, sanity and madness, but with an optimism that is endearing, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote marks a significant achievement in the already legendary career of Terry Gilliam.

From Brazil to Zero Theorem, stories about men obsessed to the point of madness feature prominently in the films of Terry Gilliam. His characters often share the same drive as their filmmaker, who throughout his notorious, legendary career, has battled against all kinds of opposition to have his unique vision on the screen. There has been none more a maddening journey from script to screen than The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. As chronicled in the 2002 documentary Lost in La Mancha, the long-delayed documentary pushed Gilliam to the brink and was thought by many to be dead in the water. Yet persist the mad maverick did, and now that it is finally released to the masses, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote can be viewed as Gilliam’s best film in years.

Adam Driver stars as Toby, a disillusioned commercial director who, when working in Spain on a Russian Vodka campaign, visits a neighbouring village where he shot his first movie: Don Quixote. What he finds is a town that’s a shell of its vibrant past, save for the cobbler (Jonathan Pryce) once cast as Don Quixote years ago, now believing to be the chivalrous crusader, and Toby his long lost lacky Sancho Panza returned from exile.

Circumstances unforeseen puts the mad Don and bewildered Toby on a strange trip of an adventure across the Spanish desert. In true Gilliam fashion, its is the Don – stubborn, highly spirited, nuttier than a Snickers – who sets the tone for an adventure that switches between reality and fantasy at the flip of a dime. Somehow Toby is thrust into the world as the Don sees it, and its not hard to see why. As played with convincing aplomb by Jonathan Pryce, the madness which the Don projects also propels a charisma and conviction that can make anyone forget the facade. The moments when the Don is in full flight are a hoot, and those when he crashes back into reality are heartbreaking. Pryce plays both the exaltation and the misery within a personable, authentic air.

Driver reciprocates with an exceptional performance of his own, presenting a knack for physical comedy and an on-point handle for Toby’s bewildered state that has him questioning his own sanity, as he sinks further into the Don’s dementia. Much like Pryce, that he can present the comedy in what can be seen as a tragic situation is testament to his skills.

Both actors, of course, were the last in a long line of thesps who fell by the wayside during what must be the most endured and problematic makings of a film since Apocalypse Now. It speaks to Gilliam’s tenacity and filmmaking skill that not only did The Man Who Killed Don Quixote finally made it to the big screen, but it proves to be one of Gilliam’s best and most joyous of films. Tragedy on-screen and off plagued The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Gilliam has successfully triumphed over adversity, with a smile on his face and middle finger proudly standing salute.

 

****

 

 

RELATED CONTENT
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus image The Zero Theorem image

APPROVED CRITIC AT
Rotten Tomatoes Logo
APPROVED CRITIC AT

Created and Edited by Matthew Pejkovic / Contact: mattsm@mattsmoviereviews.net
Logo created by Colony Graphic Design / Copyright © Matthew Pejkovic