Review of Lost in La Mancha (2002) by Michael Y — 02 Mar 2011

A documentary about filmmaking is a good idea. A documentary about Terry Gilliam filmmaking is great idea. A documentary about Terry Gilliam filmmaking a movie that doesn't get made in the end is something different.

Lost in La Mancha views writer/director/Python Boy, Terry Gilliam, and his mission to create a movie about the famous book character, Don Quixote. Terry Gilliam and Don Quixote are similar in a way, which makes Gilliam's passion on the movie even more moving to see. But Gilliam is the kind of director that takes risks, and his movies have a reputation of having many, many difficulties in it's filming and production. But it's just so cool to see a masterful filmmaker at work. But as his work on the movie begins to look promising, everything goes to shit. This documentary is so interesting to watch, especially if you love filmmaking. This one inparticular is facinating, comedical, and a sort of a bummer when Gilliam's dreams and efforts end up falling.

This doc is quite an original one. No other doc actually filmmed a movie in production that eventually gets dumped in production. This film views things in a refreshing light, being not heavily dramatic or exloitative. And it's often quite funny, even at one point they use Monty Python animation. Yay! But the most important thing about this doc is that it doesn't point the finger at anyone. It's focus and view shows only the utmost respect for Terry Gilliam and everyone involved in making the movie. This doc doesn't alter the mood to make it even more exciting, it doesn't have to.

This is a great documentary for film lovers and fans of Terry Gilliam. These kinds of things happen more often than one would think, and this doc captures the rise and fall of a movie's production in a heartbreaking yet entertaining way.