Stream Lost in La Mancha Online
Dimanche, septembre 5th, 2010 |
Stream Lost in La Mancha Online.
Movie Title: Lost in La Mancha Lost in La Mancha is available for streaming or downloading. |
After nearly ten years of obsession and persistence, maverick filmmaker Terry Gilliam finally gets the opportunity to realize his dream of making a movie about that other impossible dreamer, Don Quixote. This extraordinary documentary, produced by the team who gave us “The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of the Twelve Monkeys”, covers six weeks of pre-production of this ambitious and already troubled work and the six days of actual production which destroyed it.
With an exclusive, almost uncomfortable closeness to Gilliam’s project, we get a glimpse at other attempts to film the story (Orson Welles entertained the notion for nearly twenty years, achieving mere minutes of test footage); in-depth looks at storyboards with dialogue; screen tests of “giant” performers (as Terry quips “This is our trailer!” with his trademark Amadeus giggle); meticulous detail being applied to elaborate props and sets; auditions for character actors, and prep work with the film’s would-be stars Jean Rochefort and Johnny Depp, and the overall excitement of launching a project of epic (though underfunded) vision …..
Then the cameras roll. The crew are forced to film in an area adjacent to a military testing range, and the actors can barely hear their director or own spoken lines over the roaring jets. Misunderstandings between members of the multi-national crew result in a lack of preparedness on a ridiculously tight shooting schedule. A sudden storm literally washes valuable filming equipment down a muddy gully, and transforms the locale to one totally different from the one filming was begun in. Star Rochefort suffers multiple herniated discs, causing excruciating pain while on horseback, and has to leave the production for an indefinite time. A well-rehearsed horse becomes nervous in the presence of visiting financiers to the set, and can’t perform.
Production is put on hold while Terry and company await word on their afflicted star, and the assistant director resigns. It becomes apparent that the production must be aborted, the only option being to assess the damages with insurance operatives, and clearly define a clause known as Forces Majeurs.
Lost in La Mancha is an excruciating and candid look at a genius filmmaker confronted with a failed project, and the grace and stubborn optimism with which he faces it. Like his hero Sam Lowry from “Brazil”, the realization may indeed be one of hopelessness, but the dream never really dies. Terry Gilliam’s “un-making of” record makes for a viewing experience that is simultaneously agonizing and inspiring, a must for filmmaking hopefuls who want to be truly prepared for what can happen.
Poor Terry Gilliam. He spends time, money, energy, and I’m sure eaten a lot of antacids, and it comes to naught. But I guess the worse part is not being able to fulfill his dream. For the uber-creative director of many marvelous films, including personal fave “Twelve Monkeys”, you’d think he’d be able to whip up a nice little Don Quixote film. But without Hollywood’s resources, the money, punctuality from the actors, and cooperation from the weather his film, and his dream, came crashing down. It’s unfortunate, because it looked really, really good.
Unlike the glossy “making of” features on many films that are standard DVD extras these days, this documentary goes underneath the smiles and compliments and “best time of my life” statements and makes you wonder how films even get made. Although Gilliam’s “Quixote” had more than it’s fair share of problems to deal with, this documentary shows very well the perpetual purgatory of panic that can befall a production.
From the very beginning we see Gilliam struggling with props and sets, and his exhausted and frustrated crew wondering what exactly he wants while struggling to find resources that aren’t as abundant in Spain as they are in London or Hollywood. We see Gilliam’s right hand man, 1st Assistant Director Phil Patterson, and various producers trying to reel in actors, Johnny Depp, Vanessa Paradis, and Jean Rochefort, from all over Europe on schedule (while making the said schedule). Once shooting, a hail storm from nowhere strikes, fighter planes do test runs over the set, a studio is actually a warehouse with horrendous sound, Rochefort comes down with a prostate problem, and calamity after calamity hits the weary production. It’s painful, and by the time Patterson informs Gilliam that his film is basically dead, it’s the emotional, inevitable climax of a very taut and stress-packed narrative. It never was going to happen from the beginning, and we see almost every minute of it. The filmmakers of this film don’t interfere with what’s going on, and most of the input we get is a more honorable (and very visual) form of eavesdropping, with the exception of a few knowing glances here and there and short explanations from producers, Gilliam, and crew members. And Johnny Depp shows up totally at ease and laid back (with sympathetic worried glances and tension breaking wisecracks when needed), to the delight of this Depp fan.
I think this is one of the best films about the making of a film, a subject we really don’t get to hear much about although it’s remarkably fascinating. It’s up there with DVD commentaries and the similarly apocalyptic “Project Greenlight” series in it’s dive into the real machinery of a film. Where “Project Greenlight” gave us an idea of what a line producers do, behind the scenes relationships, and budgetary fidgeting, this gives you a good idea the enormity of the movie set and everything that could possibly go wrong. According to these, it’s more akin to managing a company or running an army and trying to win every battle than creating the vision of a renegade artist.
In the end, Gilliam is Quixote, an irony not lost on the filmmakers, Gilliam, or viewers. And the project? It’s that blasted windmill.
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