Review of Lost in La Mancha (2002) by Claudia D — 30 Apr 2008

Normally I wouldn't pick up a documentary from the video store, but I had heard some great things about Lost In La Mancha.. oh and of course I have to see every Johnny Depp movie. So knowing that I haven't watched many documentaries, and that the ones I had seen I didn't particularly like, I had some doubts about this. But I found it really, really interesting and entertaining to watch.

It follows the production and making of Terry Gilliam's film 'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote'. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong, every disaster that is possible happens, and we get to watch it all. The terrible weather, the actors late arrival, Jean Rochefort becoming ill... it goes on. But this is really enjoyable to watch. Sure, there were some times where I really felt for Terry Gilliam during this unlikely process of making the movie.. but there are things I just had to laugh at and realised it was a disaster, nothing can change that, so you might as well enjoy watching what happened. It's a real shame because with a cast like that and from the footage we see in this documentary, it looks like a great film.

After watching this I had a look at the special features disc, and watched the interview with Johnny Depp. The first thing he said about Gilliam is that he is insane, and I agree with him. Johnny also said, and I agree, that it's a compliment, Terry Gilliam is insane and so wonderful. He has his own vision of how his films should be, and he does all he can to make them appear on the big screen. He must be one of the most unfortunate directors ever, during this documentary we find out his reputation of being 'crazy' and some of the other makings of his movies becoming a bit of a disaster too.

So if you are interested at all in film making and producing, I recommend you see this. Hopefully you will get something out of it as well as watching this entertaining documentary for some fun and entertainment.