Lost in La Mancha (2002)
Lost in La Mancha (2002)
Directed by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe
For a director, the film-making experience must be like a double edged sword, where ambitious ideas and vibrant creativity can be stifled at any level by angry producers, tightening budgets and intensely difficult shooting schedules. With the documentary LOST IN LA MANCHA, we watch as a movie’s production falls apart in its earliest stages, and because the cameras were there for every aspect of the process, we’re left with a fascinating account of what ultimately launched the would-be film into a downward spiral from which it would never recover.
LOST IN LA MANCHA was intended to serve as a behind-the-scenes documentary on the making Terry Gilliam’s THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE, which itself was based loosely on the classic tale of the eccentric Spanish knight Don Quixote, a warrior who fought windmills because he believed they were giants. Instead of a DVD extra feature, however, the documentary’s directors, Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe, captured the all-out collapse of the entire project. Things start out badly for director Gilliam before the cameras ever started rolling, when the European assistants he hired to locate a studio select instead an abandoned warehouse, with poor acoustics no less. Then, once location shooting commences, Gilliam is further frustrated to learn that the extras hired for a key scene haven’t even been rehearsed. Shortly after this frustration, the rains begin, washing away equipment and water logging the entire production. Finally, it’s revealed that star Jean Rochefort, who was to play Don Quixote, is suffering from an incredibly painful prostate, a condition that makes riding a horse nearly impossible. As the disasters mount, the question of “when” THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE will finally be completed quickly turns into an “if”.
Terry Gilliam is one of my favorite filmmakers. His movies, which have always boasted elaborate sets and outrageous costumes, usually possess a level of imagination unparalleled in today’s cinema. In bringing his unique vision to the screen, Gilliam has gained a reputation for being notoriously meticulous, a director who fights openly with studio heads to get his way (His battles with producer Sidney Sheinberg over the final cut of 1984’s BRAZIL have become legendary). It’s because of my respect for both the man and his devotion that I view the events of LOST IN LA MANCHA as not so much a behind-the-scenes documentary as they are the chronicle of a true artistic tragedy.
Yet where the production of THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE was ultimately a failure, the documentary of its making, LOST IN LA MANCHA, must be viewed as a rousing success. Even here, I would give at least partial credit for LOST IN LA MANCHA‘s accomplishments to Terry Gilliam, who gave the filmmakers full access to all meetings and shooting locations. We watch as Gilliam wonders aloud why the film’s stars, Jean Rochefort and Johnny Depp, are late in turning up, and witness the devastation that occurs when the drenching rains fall. We recognize the intense pain on the face of Jean Rochefort as he sits on the horse he must mount each and every day, and ultimately, we see Gilliam, defeated, lamenting the fact that the film to which he has dedicated so much time and energy may never make it to the big screen.
Terry Gilliam will make more films, and knowing his track record, they will undoubtedly be as difficult to construct as they are fantastic to behold. Perhaps one day, THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE will be one of them. If it isn’t, then I believe the movie going public has been deprived a true treasure of the cinema, created by one of the industry’s brightest stars. What we are left with in its absence, however, is a wonderful documentary on the downfall of a movie’s production. Perhaps that will have to serve as the final legacy of Don Quixote. Like his main character, it’s quite possible that Gilliam himself was trying to conquer giants, but in the end was taken down by some pesky, damned windmills.
Marina said
November 26 2007 @ 3:07 pm
Unbelievable. I still haven’t seen this. I’m going to have to dig for this at my local alternative video store.
Dave Becker said
November 26 2007 @ 4:35 pm
Marina,
If you do find it, definitely pick it up. It’s a documentary that you have to see to believe.
Are you a Gilliam fan? I’ve been one since the early days, when I begged my parents to take me to see TIME BANDITS again. The imagination he brings to his movies is beyond belief. Along with this, he’s also a true student of the cinema (check out his introductions to the Criterion DVD’s of Fellini’s 8 1/2 and CHILDREN OF PARADISE). He’s a director who not only knows his craft, but it’s history as well.