You may already be familiar with Fathom Events that release plays, ballet, theatre, special entertainment and a rare movie for one night only at a local movie theater. This is one of those unusual engagements for the film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. The adventure comedy with a big name cast will have a special 700 theater showing in the USA on April 10.
The film opens with Director Toby (Adam Driver) filming a scene from a script he once wrote about the death of Don Quixote for his College graduation project. This time he has unlimited funds and it will be in glorious color featuring famous actors for the screen. It’s a beautiful cloudless day as production begins, but a few glitches end it when the actor playing Don Quixote gets his joust caught in a windmill,. That night at a dinner with his boss (Stellan Skarsgard), the main crew and the producer, a strange thing happens when the boss gets approached by a strolling vendor selling videos. The boss gives a video from the vendor to Toby, and it’s an exact copy of his black and white College production in but in Spanish.
So begins a nightmare of sorts as one thing leads to another with Toby trying to find his original leads so he can have the perfect movie. If you are familiar with director and writer Terry Gilliam, then you know he was a member of the troop called Monty Python. The group of actors turned topics and ideas into wild and crazy movies like Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Monty Python’s Flying Circus and other silly, but fun, movies that are often referred to as comedy classics. Terry went on to make films after the group broke up that included The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Spies like Us.
I tell you all this so you can get the flavor of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Here he fills the film with wacky dialogue and scenes that he mixes with the original story of Cervantes’ famous novel that’s come to be known as Don Quixote of La Mancha (or Man of La Mancha). All the bases are touched from the original, but in the most preposterous way to make the film an adventure comedy. Using key character names for the central storyline, Gilliam presents it in modern day and films most of it in Spain. He chooses excellent locations, archaic villages and with wide expansive shots making the movie an interesting travelogue as well.
What holds the film together however, are the actors who become the madcap characters of the irreverent script. Adam Driver, who was recently nominated for an Oscar for Blackkklansman, takes on the role of Toby the director of the movie they are filming. He’s a good task master, but he also finds time for the ladies, one of which is the Boss’s wife Jacqui (Olga Kurylenko). He gets sucked into a time warp of sorts when he runs into Havier (Jonathan Pryce) the original actor who played the role of Quixote in his college film. Trying to get him to the set so he can use the man in full length feature, the movie shifts to an adventure Toby was not expecting.
As the Don Quixote character that Toby wants in his film, Jonathan Pryce as Havier gives an amazing performance. Toby’s chance meeting with Havier finds the man psychologically lost as Don Quixote. He has become the character Toby made him for his class project The Man who Killed Don Quixote and can’t stop being the persona. Trying to convince Havier to come to the location, Pryce plays the madman perfectly, even thinking that Toby is Sancho Panza. From there to the final chapter, the two are the focal points of the crazy mixed up film.
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains abusive language, sex, drug use, and violence. You can find a theater near you for the April 10th special showing by going to Fathom Events on the internet and entering The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. https://www.fathomevents.com/
FINAL ANALYSIS: A cool film for those who like something completely different. (4 out of 5 Stars).
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Adam Driver, William Miller, Will Keen, Jason Watkins, Paloma Bloyd, Oscar Jaenada, Stellan Skarsgard, Olga Kurylenko, Jordi Molla, Jonathan Pryce, Joana Riberio, Jorge Calvo,
Directed and written by: Terry Gilliam
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains abusive language, sex, drug use, and violence
Running Time: 2 hrs. 12 min.
Opening Date: April 10, 2019 and
Distributed by: Fathom Events/ Screen Media
Released in: Standard one night only on April 10th in 700 Theaters in USA
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
