Better the devil you know...

Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, 2009
Directed by Terry Gilliam

As I have recently failed to deliver a book review I decided to share impressions of the film that I watched yesterday in the cinema. Unfavourable weather conditions made the whole trip rather challenging so I did hope that a great spectacle would compensate the effort. Besides, I had been waiting for this film for a very long time, in fact, since the moment I was dragged into Joker’s world of chaos and madness in the Dark Knight (starred by amazing Heath Ledger). My expectations had risen dangerously high and I had been looking forward to this film with trembling and anxious heart. Now I am pretty sure that going to the cinema in this mood should be severely forbidden. The less you expect, the less disappointed or the more delighted you are in the end.

The title imaginarium is a spectacle which enables its viewers to wander across their imagination and make their secret dreams come true. Such a travel across the fields of subconsciousness is possible thanks to the traveling theatre led by Doctor Parnassus accompanied by his daughter Valentina, Anton (in love with her) and Percy (dwarf). One day, under mysterious circumstances, they are joined by Tony (Ledger) who turns their world upside down. I read somewhere that as a model for his character served the British ex-prime-minister Tony Blair who used to talk the biggest nonsense and still believed it. Parnassus is a man who entered into a covenant with the devil in order to be rewarded with immortality and possibility to create his miraculous imaginarium. But, unfortunately, every debt must be paid. The story is as old as the hills but it also has a huge potential.

Well, what can I say? Despite my open-minded attitude, the film did not impress me and I will not put it among my favourite pictures. A lot of scenes are undoubtedly worth paying closer attention as they refer to Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the member of which Terry Gilliam (director) was. But the film as a whole turned out to be completely unconvincing. Applause was richly deserved only by Tom Waits as Mr. Nick (Devil). In general, his character was very interesting and you can say everything about the Devil except that he is a negative character. Mr. Nick is sly, ironic, irritating but pure evil is not his realm. Instead, he loves gambling and he is always ready to make a bet over human souls. I like the vision that this is always a man who chooses to make deals with the devil. There are always two ways: one is heading towards the Right, and the other – towards the Wrong so why does a man so often choose to go straight to the devil? I also adore the motif of never-ending story which makes the world go round. The story must be continued if we want our world to exist. What will happen if the story is interrupted? Check yourself.

I do not intend to write abundantly about acting. It is well-known that sudden death of Heath Ledger spoiled the director’s plans and it was necessary to change the screenplay and add new names to the film cast if the film were to appear in theatres. I think that introducing the idea of alter ego to a film on the power of imagination is quite a brilliant move. I was completely taken aback when after a few seconds I realised that this is not Heath Ledger I am watching but Johnny Depp! He looked like Ledger and he seemed to penetrate into his soul. This trick was performed perfectly.

And I wish the soundtrack had been more disturbing. Pity!

Nevertheless, Heath Ledger will stay alive in my memory, mainly because of his two earlier roles: Ennis in Brokeback Mountain and Joker in Dark Knight (worth watching for his role even if someone is not a fan of Batman’s adventures). See how Joker puts his dark philosophy into practice where the world is plunged into chaos and the good completes the evil.

And what about Parnassus? You can say it’s a beautiful story but I think that it lacks a pinch of magic. 

My rating: 4/6

I’d rather choose a childhood nightmare

It, 1990.
Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace

It will not be probably surprising if I write that this film made my childhood a little traumatic. I hate clowns. They are not funny for me and they seem to conceal licentious cruelty under the mask of white powder. I have never understood how parents can take their children to a circus or throw birthday parties for them where a clown plays main role. Perhaps I should not be so intolerant and take into account that not everybody has seen It based on Stephen King’s novel. I did. I was about eight then. Mum, although not so tolerant about reading Bravo magazine (another trauma…), did not oppose strongly when I watched horrors. Do not think that I am trying to judge her parenting methods (anyway, I am now a great woman;) but! Parents, you should really care what your children watch. I should confess that I have been regularly haunted by some scenes from this movie. They are great, hair-raising and there would be no shame if they were classified as ones of the best horror scenes ever. The worst thing is that I had no chance to watch the film ‘till the end as my mother finally lost her patience and sent me to bed (the film is really long, and if I am not wrong, they have changed it into miniseries). Unfortunately, the horror has not finished for me and the dreadful clown had stayed alive in my memory. Until yesterday. After twenty years I decided to face my childhood nightmare. Now I wish I hadn’t…

This is also the main film motif: face your fear, recognise and overcome your anxieties. You can guess that King does not provide us with simple answers. It is not all about killing and flaying. King’s inside look at our shameful fears is not skin-deep. He examines them closely and brings them to light.

The plot is as follows: in an American town children are kidnapped and murdered under unexplained circumstances. The police fail to find the reason or culprit of the tragic incidents. At the same time the group of teenagers is troubled by a demonic clown who seems to know perfectly what children are afraid of and knows how to use this knowledge. First, young people are not sure if the clown is real or if it is only for their vivid imagination which plays tricks on them. But when they finally conclude that they see the same creature, they decide to fight with it. They succeed in annihilating IT. But too bad after thirty years the child murderer returns to the town. The evil busters, who are now adult, also decide to come back to the hometown and wipe IT out once and for all.

The story is trivial. The acting and directing – rather bad. The end – disappointing (now I know that mum was right). But my memories and the film’s power of influence is cannot leave me indifferent. A clown represents everything what we were afraid of when were children. It embodies all the evil lurking around every bend in children’s seemingly simple lives. Little men are afraid not only of wolves and bad clowns. They often fear their parents wreaking their anger on them and their classmates scoffing at them in front others. They also fear they will not be loved and accepted. And I am sure that here is no need to convince anybody that one of the worst fears is that of physical violence but we must remember that pain inflicted upon a soul could be as deep as that inflicted upon a body.

So now the clown is not as scary for me as it used to be and serves rather as a symbol. But I have been left with a life fear which is closer, more real and more perceptible…  

I am curious what your childhood memories are. Please share.

My rating:  4/6