It’s quite something to hear words of optimism and positivity coming from Terry Gilliam about the albatross around his neck that has been “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.” The director has pursued the cursed project for years, and miraculously managed to finally shoot thing last year with a cast including Adam Driver, Jonathan Pryce, Olga Kurylenko, Joana Ribeiro, and Stellan Skasgard. Moreover, the early word is that it turned out pretty to be pretty damn good.
“We had a screening last week with just a bunch of friends and friends of friends and people I don’t even know and I am afraid it went terribly well. But there is always a side of me that right up until it is released will be ‘have we really got it as good as we can?’ ” Gilliam said in October.
A month later, the filmmaker was still in good spirits about his picture, saying, “Well, we’ve almost finished the cut. We’re just fiddling now, figuring out a few things here and there so it’s pretty much what it is. We’ve got still months of work to do on visual effects, sound, music. But as far as the tale, it’s pretty tight now and it’s surprisingly wonderful.”
We’re trying to keep our expectations reasonable, but we’re already off to a good start if Gilliam is pleased with the picture. Here’s the official synopsis, followed by the first look at the film below:
Once upon a time, Toby was an idealistic young film student. His great achievement, a lyrical re-working of the Don Quixote story set in a quaint old Spanish village. But that was then; these days he is a jaded, arrogant and over-sexed commercials director. Money and glamour have derailed him, and now he juggles his boss’s wife Jacqui, a biblical storm and his own ego as he tries to complete a new commercial shoot in Spain. Until a mysterious Gypsy approaches him with an ancient copy of Toby’s student film: Toby is moved and sets off to find the little village where he made his primary opus all those years ago. To Toby’s horror, his little film has had a terrible effect on the sleepy village; Angelica, the young girl who was innocence personified, now works as a high class call-girl, and the old man who played Quixote has now gone completely mad, believing he really is the ‘Knight of the Mournful Countenance’. A series of accidents leads to a fire that threatens to destroy the village. The police come for Toby, but he is ‘rescued’ by the deluded old man, who, mistaking him for his loyal squire Sancho, leads Toby away into the countryside on the quest for his perfect lady, Dulcinea. On their quest, Toby comes face to face with demons, both real and imagined, modern and medieval. Damsels are rescued, jousts are fought, giants are slain and women have beards! Reality and fantasy blur on this bizarre road trip which leads to a phantasmagorical finale.
Amazon will release ‘Don Quixote’ in the U.S., but there’s no release date just yet. However, I’d presume a Cannes Film Festival premiere is likely a lock.
around european film market i've got the first official picture from terry gilliam's quixote with adam driver and jonathan pryce #themanwhokilleddonquixote #Berlinale #TerryGilliam pic.twitter.com/5IOmapTqSc
— Andrea Corsini (@andreamtcorsini) February 21, 2018