The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
Directed by Terry Gilliam
- adventure
- comedy
The story
Toby, a cynical film director finds himself trapped in the outrageous delusions of an old Spanish shoe-maker who believes himself to be Don Quixote. In the course of their comic and increasingly surreal adventures, Toby is forced to confront the tragic repercussions of a film he made in his idealistic youth.
What it’s like
Sun-bleached Spanish plains, dusty ochre hills and sweeping wide landscapes give this film a warm, dry-throated look, with scenes of cramped village streets and cluttered studio sets built around bright daylight and the occasional drift into dreamlike colour. Gilliam's camera moves with restless energy, swinging through busy compositions and cutting between the grounded real world and fantasy episodes that can feel like a storybook come to life. The score leans on guitar and folk-inflected textures that suit the travelling spirit of the story. The vibe is wry, scruffy and bittersweet, a shaggy comedy with an undercurrent of regret that suits a lazy afternoon or a late evening when you want something funny but not frantic. Pacing is loose and episodic, with a cynical man slowly loosening his grip on his own disillusion as he is dragged along by a gentle, deluded old dreamer. Intensity is mild: there is some slapstick and comic peril, a few rough or chaotic moments, and brief bloodless violence, with no gore and little sustained menace. It suits viewers who enjoy eccentric comedy, filmmaking-about-filmmaking, and literary playfulness rather than tidy narrative.
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