O Homem que Matou Dom Quixote

I’m glad that Terry Gilliam finally got to shoot his opus. And I’m also glad that I’ve watched it. But that’s about it. Unfortunately it’s nothing special. What else should I have expected from Terry but something totally wacky, right? But not to sound all that negative, I must admit that Adam Driver was a good fit for his role. I really liked his character, which has a lot of the director himself in it. The locations were perfect, too. Spain is simply charming, there’s no doubt about that. The filmmaking craft is once again at a high level, but the story contains more fantasy than reality. But when I ponder on this – what is reality, really? Not even Don Quijote himself knew the answer to that. (23/07/2019)

Gilliam finally finished the project that once almost destroyed him. Great acting, although I found Depp more convincing than Driver. Pryce is classic in his delivery and I don’t know which of the femme fatales is more beautiful. Ironic references to the previous production, a fantastic climax and wonderful music. But I still can’t shake the feeling that the first version would have been better if they had managed to complete it. On the other hand, we would have been denied that depressing and devastating documentary about it. (30/11/2019)

Terry Gilliam and his Quixote don't have it easy at all. The disaster documentary Lost in La Mancha and the fact that filming began again after almost 20 years, raised huge expectations... without the audience knowing exactly what to expect. So it is a surprise that some people are now satisfied, some half satisfied, and some are not. Indeed, Gilliam himself writes in his pre-eminent memoir “Gilliamesque": “If we can finish the film someday, people will probably just be disappointed that we didn't get the ideal of don Quixote's futile struggle with windmills." Well, I'm not disappointed. True, I would have preferred if don Quixote and Sancho Toby had gone on their quest a little earlier and the film was quicker, but the experience of those great ideas and the absolutely perfect performance by Jonathan Pryce made up for it. The best scene, I think, is the one with the ride to the moon and the sun, in which there was absolutely everything from humor to emotion. Although Terry Gilliam did not do better than The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, he certainly did not make a disgrace out of this old dream. (23/07/2018)

After many years of waiting and anticipation characterised by a whole range of problems, Gilliam’s battered project is finally here, and practically stands as an anti-commercialism manifesto of sorts. Toby, the arrogant and pampered advert director, returns to the location where, years earlier, he had shot his student film, and, on top of a generous dose of nostalgia, he encounters a loony old man that Toby’s work had thrown into the grips of madness, making him believe to be Don Quixote. While boundaries between dream and reality as well as past and present crumble apart, our central duo ends up in a bunch of wacky situations, which don’t always lead to happy endings. Many people will find this typical Gilliam-style film hard to watch, but I’m confident the fanbase will appreciate it. [KVIFF 2018] (05/07/2018)

É uma pena eterna que Gilliam não tenha conseguido acertar da primeira vez, porque após dezoito anos de esperanças, vendo este emaranhado confuso de oportunidades perdidas, que ainda consegue ser promissor no início, mas que depois se desfaz lentamente num carrossel de motivos de Dom Quixote amontoados uns sobre os outros sem qualquer ordem, dificilmente pode ser considerado uma conclusão bem sucedida de um projeto que durou um quarto de século. Gilliam estiliza maravilhosamente o protagonista, interpretado por Adam Driver, numa versão alternativa de si mesmo - um realizador amaldiçoado pelos seus próprios desejos e pretensões criativas, que gradualmente perde a cabeça e se torna o próprio Dom Quixote, lutando em vão contra os moinhos de vento - no entanto, é incapaz de estruturar esta metáfora com uma narrativa coerente e dar às suas visões sem dúvida originais, extravagantes e coloridas qualquer fundamento de apoio. Tudo acontece aqui sem qualquer causalidade ou direção clara, os diálogos raramente têm energia, e o resultado é uma loucura dadaísta-surrealista em que, por alguma razão, os muçulmanos e a vodka russa desempenham um papel significativo. O tradicionalmente bom Adam Driver e o cativante Jonathan Pryce só salvam a situação se não lhes for pedido para caírem grotescamente e se moverem de forma ridícula. As melhores passagens encontram-se na primeira meia hora e depois sempre que há ecos da gravação original (os três gigantes no final) ou meta-piadas referentes às filmagens capturadas em Lost in La Mancha (os japoneses no cenário, culpando os problemas pela intervenção de um poder superior). Gilliam costumava ser vítima das circunstâncias; o seu filme é agora uma vítima da sua própria criatividade sem limites. Quem é o homem que matou Dom Quixote? Infelizmente, o mesmo homem que o criou. (02/07/2018)

These windmills are imbued with a distinctive charm, humor and adventure in pure Terry Gilliam style. But I have a feeling that this time things got a little out of hand. Simply put, the form surpassed the content, which is a real shame. Especially since he put so much effort into putting the movie together and it was obviously a heartfelt matter on his part. (65%) (30/04/2022)