WARNING: Spoilers will likely ensue.Watched The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, a delightful little film, last night. Terry Gilliam, one of the madmen of Monty Python, was the writer/director, and you can't miss the distinctive overtones from the Python-era. The sets, animations, and yes, a few chorus lines, are all part of this movie experience. Though abstract, the plot was never hard to follow. And the cast, ah, the cast was superb. This is the first movie I've seen in awhile that actually makes me sad about the fact that Heath Ledger died too young. He was an actor with incredible depth and range, far beyond many of his contemporaries. The only actor of his generation that I think can even compare is Adrien Brody.The film follows the trials of a father, superbly played by Christopher Plummer, whose life changed dramatically centuries ago when the devil showed up at his monastery and disproved his worldview. It's quite a lovely worldview, too. The monks of this ancient order were tasked with telling the endless tale, in other words, reading a story over and over forever in order to keep the fabric of the universe whole. When the devil, played by none other than The Great Tom Waits (it's my personal belief that Tom Waits's name should always be preceded with the appellation "The Great"), causes all the monks to become mute, Plummer's character is forced to realize a greater truth--that the soul of mankind is based on our ever-spinning stories. The Devil says it ain't so, and the men commence to place a bet on who's right. The winner--and here's where I get a little puckered--gets to keep Plummer's child, in this case, a daughter. Yeah, another "woman is prize not person" story.In any case, after getting beyond that, I was able to enjoy the way the movie ambles along, interweaving the current life of Plummer, his daughter, and the vagabond troupe of actors with whom he's created a moving stage show, and his continual bets with the devil, desperately trying to find a way to ensure his daughter is spared. Ledger's character becomes the catalyst for greater change in their lives that may, or may not, be for the best.The real beauty of this story is the central idea: Dr. Parnassus (Plummer's character) has created an Imaginarium, a portal through which any person who steps through is transported from their concrete life to the world of their own imagination. Some people's imaginary worlds are more friendly than others. This dimension is where Terry Gilliam's own imagination gets that chance to run wild, and it is quite an engaging place to be. It's within the Imaginarium that Parny's daughter's fate will unfold and we viewers get to share the full experience.
If you're looking for a way to get outside common movie themes and be transported to ideas that require no personal experience to appreciate, this is the movie for you.
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