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Movie: Lost In La Mancha
Starring Terry Gilliam, Johnny Depp, Jean Rocheford
Written and Directed by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe
(Quixote and Low Key Films)
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes
Lost In La Mancha is a fascinating documentary that follows one of my favorite directors, Terry Gilliam, in his quest to make a new Don Quixote fable. Don Quixote is the poster boy of hopeless causes of course and unfortunately Terry's plan to make the film turns into a hopeless cause itself.
Gilliam invited two young filmmakers, Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe, to record the production from its earliest stages, most likely for the eventual DVD. Most camerawork is handheld but there is some surviving footage from the production itself that looks gorgeous in the way that only Gilliam can do. There's also a short animated piece done on the director himself that's in Terry's old Monty Phython style that's priceless. To their credit Gilliam and his staff maintain their professionalism amazingly well, and the two young documentarians record everything unflinchingly.
Lost In La Mancha is completely engrossing, but I would've seen it just to watch Terry Gilliam in action. Unfortunately Terry is presiding over a complete failure. It's bad enough that Terry Gilliam has a reputation for going over budget, but in trying to produce The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, the elements seem to conspire against him as well. Everything is already behind schedule when a freak storm destroys his set in the middle of Spain before he's gotten in a half week of shooting. Terry bravely marches on from there, but then his main star, 70 year old Jean Rocheford, gets terribly ill. The project slowly and painfully deflates before your eyes.
It's a shame there isn't more footage from the movie, but they really didn't get far at all before things fell apart. Fulton and Pepe obviously got something far more important than an extra chapter on a disc. I can only imagine what lies in their outtakes.
This documentary is a testament to how hard filmmaking really is. Being a collaborative and extremely expensive medium to work in, it's amazing that any film ever gets made. That any gets released with a high level of art is nothing short of a miracle. Gilliam obviously and ironically has a lot of Quixote in himself as he struggles for his dream. He may yet buy back the rights and make The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, but this little film will probably be remembered far longer than anything he could make now.
Lost In La Mancha is in extremely limited release so don't wait when it comes to your town; seek it out.
The Skinny:
Am I glad I saw the film? Yes
Would I go to see it again? If you have any feeling at all for how films are made you'll find this film riveting.
© 2003 - Rusty Pipes