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Our story follows the mysterious Dr.
Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) who has the extraordinary gift of inspiring the imaginations of
others.
Helped by his ramshackle traveling theatre troupe, including his
sarcastic and cynical sidekick Percy (Austin Powers' Mini Me, Verne Troyer) and versatile young player Anton,
Parnassus offers audience members the chance to transcend mundane
reality by passing through a magical mirror into a fantastic universe
of limitless imagination.
However, as is the case with all good tales, Dr. Parnassus' magic comes at a price.
For
centuries he has been gambling with the Devil (a perfectly cast Tom Waits), literally, who is coming to
collect his prize - Parnassus' precious daughter, Valentina on her
upcoming 16th birthday.
Oblivious to her rapidly approaching fate,
Valentina falls for the equally mysterious and suss Tony (the late Australian Oscar winner, Heath Ledger), a charming outsider with motives of his own.
In order to save his daughter and redeem himself, Parnassus makes one
final bet with Mr. Nick, which sends Tony and Valentina and the entire
theatre troupe on a ride of twists and turns, in and out of London and
the Imaginarium's spectacular landscape.
Quite
clearly, this isn't a story as cut and dry as "GI JOE has to save the
world : The End" - and thank Christ for that, because Gilliam has once
again crafted something truly sublime with The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus.
The
visuals are everything we could hope for (despite venturing inside the
"Imaginarium" fewer times than you might desire) from the man whose
visual style led the way for Monty Python.
The cast, too, is just wonderful with each player delivering something as richly layered and textured as the next.
Of
course the main appeal, for most, will be checking out just exactly
what Heath Ledger was up to before that fateful day where he popped a
bunch of pills while on hiatus from filming. The question being : Is
"Tony" as striking as "The Joker"...
The Answer : Of course not, nor should it have to be.
In
fact, the use of Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell in his
stead is a truly wondrous thing to behold. To be honest, it's hard to
even see how the film could have been made without them - like destiny
had a hand in putting the finishing touches on Gilliam's best work in
years.
The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus
is not for everyone. It's an odd beast at the best of times and never
quite gives the definitive answers you may seek, which will leave even
the most open minded of film-goers slightly befuddled.
However, give it a chance, because if you are one of the lucky ones who "gets it" (or, at the very least, most of it)... The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus will positively blow your mind.
DVD Special Features
Besides the "Lenticular Cover" (which is another way
of saying "We couldnt find a decent extra, so we'll put this useless
thing in front of your eyes") there isn't too much to get excited about
here.
Surely, of all movies, there would have to be some decent retrospectives floating about. Not even a "In Memorium" for Ledger?
Conclusion:
Movie 90% Extras: N/A
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