The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

It has been a while since I’ve added something to this blog. Maybe because of the slow beginning of the year, or inactivity, or laziness, take your pick. But today I have something:

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, directed by Terry Gilliam.

Heath Ledger’s last movie is a chaotic incursion in the imaginative world. I don’t expect this movie will make it as a blockbuster. As I sat through the 2 hours story, at least one third of the audience stood up and left the cinema. Too bad for them, but I guess The Imaginarium is not for everyone, you have to be a little open-minded and accept the lack of order and linearity in a movie about imagination :)

The plot itself is simple: an ancient wizard (Doctor Parnassus) made a deal with the devil, promising the soul of his child when she'll turn 16 in exchange of youth and love. The old man (who was immortal due to another bet with the devil) was traveling the world with his ambulant Imaginarium, a place that could reach deep into any customer imagination and give shape to thier dreams once they enter the magic mirror.

As the devil comes to reclaim his prize, Doctor Parnassus enters into another bet, promising five souls in three days, which he would obtain with the help of Tony, the hanged man he recently saved from death.

In helping the doctor, Tony enters the Imaginarium and his personality changes every time, hence the actor is different every time: from Heath Ledger, to Jude Law, to Johnny Depp and finally – Colin Farrell, each bringing his own traits to the part (from wits, to charm, to sensuality, to paranoia).

As a fantasy, I think the movie was a success, and the effects used to create the fantastical worlds from everybody’s minds although old-schooled, were really well done.
The Faustian storyline, on the other hand, wasn’t as successful. I think you cannot try to explain how the mysteries of mind work through logical reasoning, relying on an immortal man’s drama.

Heath Ledger’s last performance doesn’t even come close to his Joker role and maybe Terry Gilliam could have left the Oscar-winning part to be the actor’s last one. As to who would have got the role instead of Heath? I don’t know…maybe Johnny Depp, whose performance was the shortest amongst all the “Tony” characters. But I’m no director and I guess the Imaginarium is in a way a tribute to Heath Ledger and all the big names, his friends participated in creating this whimsical world for him, in his memory.

The movie was a little bit too long; one cannot take that much of fantasy intertwined with a reality that’s not very clear either. But it was a good movie, worth seeing in a cinema or at home in a cold winter day with a hot cup of cocoa in front of you.

I think it deserves at least a 7 / 10.