It’s finally happening. We are so close to the world premiere of Terry Gilliam’s “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.” Of course, the big joke now is that there will be some catastrophe or end-of-days weather event that will happen right before the film closes out the Cannes Film Festival. But barring any unforeseen acts of God, the public will finally get to watch Gilliam’s passion project on the big screen.
In preparation for the premiere, Cannes has released a slew of new pictures and a few clips from the film that gives us a good idea of what we can expect. While we can’t know for sure if the film will live up to the decades of hype, but judging by the footage shown in the clips, it sure does look beautiful. Plus, Adam Driver, and especially Jonathan Pryce, are acting the hell out of the scenes.
“The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” tells the story of an ad executive as he navigates the world with a delusional man who believes that he’s actually Don Quixote. That short plot description does no justice to the film that, by all accounts, looks to have the same Gilliam style that fans have grown to love over the years.
As we mentioned earlier this week, we don’t have word on when the film will come to the US, as Amazon has dropped the project. However, we are closer than ever from seeing the finished product.
Here’s the synopsis, as well as the clips and new pictures:
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.
