The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

"The Imaginarium does not cost a thing. We're not here for money."

I have a friend that I went to High School with who loves Terry Gilliam. I had never heard of him. He sent me a message with a link to this trailer and I was very interested. After seeing this this I can see why he is a fan. He is very creative and a bit off the wall.

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus was Heath Ledgers final movie. He sadly died during the filming of this movie, That set back left the door open for even more of Mr. Gilliam's madness to make a movie great. All of the Scenes in which Ledgers character, Tony, goes into the Imaginarium he is played by a different person. Sometimes Jude Law, sometimes Johnny Depp or Collin Farrel.

The story is of a group of gypsies who roam around putting on "shows" for people. Little do they know that they are all a part of a bet between Dr. Parnassus, played by Chrstopher Plummer and Mr. Nick(Satan) played by Tom Waits. They have made a pact that when Valentina turns 16 that she will become property of Mr. Nick. When they come across tony hanging under a bridge he joins the traveling show and finds he has the power to create worlds of his own behind the looking glass. He discovers what is going on and tries to put a stop to it.

I must say how much I enjoyed the character Anton played by Andrew Garfield. I thought he was great. I have never seen him in any of his other movies. I guess he play a role in this years hit The Social Network. In this movie he is great. He plays such an enjoyable role.

This film made me realize a few things. First off Terry Gilliam is awesome. Second He is a genius. Third that he is Crazy, and finally that Tom Waits should play (and usually does) Satan in every movie. The scenes in this film were great. Many CGI scenes made me think of a dark Dr. Seuss Book. Dr. Seuss crossed with the touch of a modern day Tim Burton. I need to revisit this movie and watch it in one sitting. I unfortunately watched it over the course of a few days. That never helps in the continuity of a film.

I did like this one. It is a film that you can get something from each time you watch it. The color was fantastic, the ides were amazing. The characters were well played and the theories/theology well thought out.

6.5 out of 10

Smoke Signals

"The only thing more pathetic than Indians on TV is Indians watching Indians on TV."

In College I took an intro to film class. We had a list of movie we were going to watch throughout the year. Smoke signals was one of them. Like many of the films on the list we did not get to see it. After many recommendations from my cousin I checked it out. That was 5 years ago. I have watched it 4 times since then. After another viewing last night I realized how much I like this film. It was the first film to be written, directed and filmed by Native Americans.

The story is of two friends, Victor and Thomas, and their struggle to deal with life. This movie is essentially a "road movie" where a character goes on a road trip and find themselves and face down their demons.

Victor Joseph is played by Adam Beach. You may have seen him playing the Native American in many other films such as Windtalkers, Flags of Our Fathers and one of my favorites...Joe Dirt. He does a great job playing an Indian with a chip on his shoulder, who lives on a Rez in Couer d'Alene in Northern Idaho. His friend Thomas Builds-a-Fire played by Evan Adams is a nerdy boy who wears big glasses and a suit at all times. When Victor is suddenly called away Thomas goes with him on a road trip. There the two deal with issues in their lives and struggle with the past.

In Arizona they meet Suzy Song who was a friend of Victors father. She is played by the beautiful Irene Bedard, who was the voice of Pocahontas in the Disney cartoon. Suzy help Victor realize it is time to change and offers him a new perspective that will help change his point of view.

The shots of Idaho and Arizona are beautiful. The rolling hills of Idaho make me feel a bit home sick for that part of the country. My Mother-In-Law watched the movie with me and she said that the film made her think of Napoleon Dynamite. I think part in due to the film location and also the independent feel to the movie.
The film was at Sundance back in 1998 where it won the Filmmakers: Dramatic award and the Audience: Dramatic award.

Smoke signals brings up the issues of racism, anger, acceptance and forgiveness. The final thought by Thomas sums up the movie as it questions forgiving their fathers.

"How do we forgive our fathers? Maybe in a dream. Do we forgive our fathers for leaving us too often, or forever, when we were little? Maybe for scaring us with unexpected rage, or making us nervous because there never seemed to be any rage there at all? Do we forgive our fathers for marrying, or not marrying, our mothers? Or divorcing, or not divorcing, our mothers? And shall we forgive them for their excesses of warmth or coldness? Shall we forgive them for pushing, or leaning? For shutting doors or speaking through walls? For never speaking, or never being silent? Do we forgive our fathers in our age, or in theirs? Or in their deaths, saying it to them or not saying it. If we forgive our fathers, what is left?"

8 out of 10