Terry Gilliam’s quest to get The Man Who Killed Don Quixote made has been so beset by disasters that it spawned a feature-length documentary about it, 2002’s Lost In La Mancha. In case you don’t know the story, after several years of trying to get it off the ground, the movie finally went into production in 2000, with Johnny Depp and Jean Rochefort starring. However very quickly a combination of factors, ranging from Rochefort getting seriously ill to a storm wrecking the sets, meant to the whole thing had to be called off.
Over the years Gilliam has tried on numerous occasions to get it off the ground again, but a range of issues, mainly surrounding financing, means it’s never happened. Until now that is. However, even now the problems haven’t ended as while it’s in the can and pretty much completed, a court case over who owns the rights has been launched, which means it can’t be screened at Cannes as originally planned.
It doesn’t help either that Gilliam angered many with recent tone deaf comments about the #metoo movement, which seemed to blame women for being harassed and sought to excuse men from repercussions.
However, the first trailer for the movie has now arrived. Here’s the synopsis: ‘The Man Who Killed Don Quixote tells the story of a deluded old man (Jonathan Pryce) who is convinced he is Don Quixote, and who mistakes Toby (Adam Driver), an advertising executive, for his trusty squire, Sancho Panza. The pair embark on a bizarre journey, jumping back and forth in time between the 21st and magical 17th century. Gradually, like the infamous knight himself, Toby becomes consumed by the illusory world and unable to determine his dreams from reality. The tale culminates in a phantasmagorical and emotional finale where Toby takes on the mantle of Don Quixote de la Mancha.’
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