|
LOST IN LA MANCHA Send This Review to a Friend
Making movies is tough work under the best of conditions. Anyone who has spent time on a film location knows how many problems there are and how tedious shooting can be. But when basic elements go terribly wrong, the results can be devastating. In the case of Terry Gilliam's efforts to fulfill his dream of making "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" events conspired to kill the movie itself. Filmmakers Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe, having received permission to make a film about the production, were on hand to document the demise.
This is an engrossing account, blow by blow, of what happened to derail the film that was loosely based on the classic by Cervantes. The weather, problems with illness, insurance and financing proved to be insurmountable. A key ingredient was the illness of star Jean Rochefort, the distinguished French actor signed to play the Don Quixote character, with Johnny Depp as co-star. The time of Rochefort's absence became longer and longer and the delays caused complication after complication.
The documentary filmmakers were on hand in Spain to capture the day-to-day angst and tensions. They could follow the problems as they happened, and the result is a fascinating look into so many aspects of trying to hold a movie together that this unusual film becomes an education into the ways of the business and the pressures on creative people with a passion for what they aim to accomplish. The defeat is a sad one, but the process is illuminating. An IFC Films release.
|