The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Have you ever been eating Mexican food with your friends? You've all ordered the same meal, and your friends think it’s too spicy, but you don’t think it’s spicy enough? That’s kind of how this movie is.

“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” while chock-full of good actors and amazing visuals, is really more of a fable or morality tale. It also has a surprisingly cerebral and disjointed storyline. Therefore, those who aren’t huge fantasy fans may be deterred by the confusing story and twisty end (aka, it’s too spicy) while hardcore fantasy fans might be disappointed in its lack of epic battles, its small-scale story, and its underplayed use of magic (not spicy enough). A lot of people might only watch the film to see Heath Ledger’s final performance. Just to warn you though: he only plays one-fourth of a character, so you might not see too much of him.           

"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" begins with a traveling stage troupe, led by Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) and his young daughter, repeatedly called “Scruffy.” The other parts of the group are four horses, an extremely awkward teenager named Anton, a magic mirror, and an obnoxious midget. Funny, there aren’t a lot of midgets who are fun to be around in movies these days. Between this guy, the dwarf from “The Princess Bride” and Danny DeVito, most movie midgets really get on one’s nerves.

Well, while the group is performing, a drunk guy wanders onstage and tries to cause mayhem. He gets pushed through the magic mirror, and into his own mind. There, he escapes all sorts of ghastly traps, defends himself from flying bats, and renounces drinking forever. However, he walks into an imaginary bar in the next scene, and explodes. Wow! Imagine if that actually happened to people who broke their New Year's resolutions! We’d all be dead!!!

Next, we then learn a bit more about Doctor Parnassus. Many years ago, in order to obtain the love of a beautiful woman, he sold his daughter’s soul to Satan. He also never told her about this. What a great father! I mean, if you’re going to sell the soul of your first-born child, at least do it for something worthwhile! Like some good movie reviewing skills! I mean, uh, not that I sold my first-born child’s soul or anything…

Now the devil has come to collect. The devil, known colloquially as Mr. Nick, offers Parnassus one last chance: collect five souls by his daughter's birthday, and he won't claim her soul. Parnassus , blind to the repercussions, accepts. While we begins his quest to obtain these souls, his motley crew meets a man hanging from a bridge over the Thames. This man (played by Heath Ledger, Colin Farrell, Jude Law, and Johnny Depp) has lost his memory, but may very well be the key to Parnassus winning the bet. On the flip side, he could also be...his downfall.

Wacky, stunning, and wild, this dark Terry Gilliam fantasy is nothing like his more child-friendly “Time Bandits” or “Brothers Grimm.” It is a complex morality tale and character study, and it’s unlikely kids will enjoy it much. It’s also rather confusing, very dark, and low on the action sequences. Plus, the midget is ungodly annoying. On the other hand, it is visually striking, moving, philosophical, and very creative. I’d be lying if I told you the parts in the mirror weren’t TONS of fun to watch. It’s really the stuff outside the magic mirror that needs more work. It tends to drag and seem clichéd. All in all, though, I highly recommend this one. 8/10.