The Making of Quixote

[bruttenholm]

Hopefully, a proper US release will help to tip the scales in the film's favor.

I don't see this film doing well in US to be honest. And I don't think there's even a space in the film critic world in america to support or even enjoy this film. All I see coming from the US is an endless cycle of scoops and rumors around disney releases, whereas it's star wars or marvel films... I don't know if there's still space for a Gilliam film in the US. Amazon banked on it because it was good publicity, being seen as the studio which helped making this legendary project, then they dropped it because they realized they don't care, actually. The most sad/laughable/ridiculous of course is that questioning the place of films in our lives and their role as artistic or commercial objects is one of the main themes of Gilliam's film... And obviously Variety or the Hollywood reporter won't like it, as they have become glorified studio marketing vessels. At the end of it, it's sad, because I don't know where Gilliam could go for the next one...

[dktd]

I don't understand the comparison between Don Quixote potential to the Disney world (who are suffering with cinema releases, for the most part, too - https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...ix/556895/). Is cinema a space that people, as a general rule, go to these days, or something that they look to make money back on later? Most films I see at the cinema seem to be either empty, or full only because it's a tiny cinema.
Surely there's an indie market for Don Quixote in America? As much as there is anywhere these days ...

I'm just hoping I don't have to watch it on a streaming service, and I'm gagging for a London (UK) viewing.

[cclark]

Living in NYC, I was lucky to be able to see Tideland, Dr. Parnassus, and The Zero Theorem in the theaters (though only Parnassus was viewed on a big movie screen, as the other two played at an indie theater with a much smaller screen).

I think Quixote's best hope would be to be picked up by Fox Searchlight, as two of Gilliam's past three movies (Tideland and Zero Theorem) hardly got any theatrical distribution from their respective companies. Parnassus at least had the widest of the three with 607 theaters (which was a pretty conservative release for Heath Ledger's last film). If Quixote comes to the US after it's made it's budget back it could make it more attractive for them (much like Parnassus did before Sony Pictures Classics released that film in the US). Fox Searchlight usually does a good job handling their films and have a great track record: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/char...hlight.htm

[bruttenholm]

I know a guy who dreams of Guillermo Del Toro producing a Terry Gilliam film so at least having Fox Searchlight distribute the film would be a step ahead
But really I think the film's more in A24's wheelhouse. I wonder why we haven't heard more of them yet.

[Donald McKinney]

I think it'll do better in the UK and America, besides it only cost €16 million, we're not talking a massive budget like on Baron Munchausen or The Brothers Grimm. I'd like to see how it does in Spain, Quixote's native country. A lot of Spanish money went into the film, so we'll see how well it does there.

[bruttenholm]

The spanish reviews i saw passing slaughtered the film... I think they're even meaner because quixote is such a cultural landmark, like sacred ground.

And by the way, regarding the film doing better in US and UK... If boxoffice mojo is to be believed, Parnassus did around 4 million dollars in France while it did 7 million dollars in the US (with 5 times more potential viewers) and 5 million in the UK and Zero Theorem did around 250 000 dollars in the US but 210 000 in France and 180 in the UK. Sorry but France is still one of the country which is the more welcoming for Gilliam films.

[cclark]

Great review from the IMDb:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1318517/rev...ef_=tt_urv

8/10
Again, Gilliam Takes Us on a Thought-Provoking Wild Ride
Skinshark 23 May 2018
Maybe it helps to be familiar with Terry Gilliam's canon of work. But as a whole The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is a multi-layered story of the Ages of Man. The Dreamer and the Raconteur living in parallel lives.

What's fascinating is how the meanings of each of the characters and their story arcs fold into each other from the director, Terry Gilliam's own life to Adam Driver, playing a Gilliam figure all the way to Jonathan Pryce's man who's seemingly lost his mind. Part of me wonders how much of this is a farcical documentary or auto-biography.

Still as heady as it can be it still entertains. The acting is great, the characters are fully realized and the settings, cinematography and production design are signature styles of Gilliam: hand-crafted to bend to the will of his vision...as mad as it may be.

This is not a run-of-the-mill linear movie. It's not a popcorn flick. There's a lot to interpret and involve the audience so, don't expect instant gratification. To a lot of reviewers it seems they were overwhelmed by an unclear story. Which that may be true for those who don't want to be involved in the story. It asks a bit of self-reflection, it asks a bit of trust that the characters, working on several levels of psychosis, dreams, hallucinations and madness will all come to a natural conclusion in their story arcs and bring the global story of the film into one single point of focus:

We all had dreams once and we got lost. We may remember those dreams in our middle-age and yet in our old age we may become consumed by the dream to point of dreaming of our own existence.

If you like BRAZIL or THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS you will like this film.

[bruttenholm]

Also the Playlist has a 2nd review, more positive than the first one, and rank the film in their list of "the best films of 2018 cannes film festival" :

“The Man Who Killed Don Quixote”
Make no mistake about it, “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” is a love letter to art, to those that dare dream and how it can also lead us to madness, but the best most joyous kind. The overt symbolism is delivered here with a wink from Terry Gilliam, who returns to his roots of satirical comedy with this fantastic film. The best way to compare Gilliam’s achievement is to a delirious dream happening before your very eyes. It is an uncompromising work, purposely delivered as a mess, I mean, how could it not be, with the tumultuous journey this film has had these last 25 years, Gilliam, quite frankly, doesn’t give a damn about failing. And so, he invites us to check logic at the door before entering the world of ‘Quixote.” Explanations take a backseat for the moment-to-moment chaos happening before our very eyes. Which results in some of the most personal filmmaking he’s done in more than two decades, with more than a few references to art and the creative here. In other words, this is a rejuvenation. Terry Gilliam, the auteur, is back because, it seems, like taking chances and possibly failing clearly excites him again. “Quixote” is a fearless movie that is easily his best work since his streak of films in the ’90s. He infuses his film with Gilliam-esque mayhem and set-pieces too outrageous to describe in a single passage. Mainstream audiences might not be pleased, but this is the Gilliam we used to love, the go-for-broke creative that refused to adhere to conventionality. – JR

https://theplaylist.net/best-2018-cannes...-20180523/

[cclark]

But really I think the film's more in A24's wheelhouse. I wonder why we haven't heard more of them yet.

A24 is still listed on the IMDb site as the sole US theatrical distributor, and as Amazon was removed as soon as the news became known, I'd assume that information to still be true.

Actually, looking at their track record, A24 does pretty well: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/char...io=a24.htm

It looks like Ex Machina (and maybe The Disaster Artist) has a budget that is close to Quixote's

[cclark]

BTW here is the song used in the trailer, Les Fleurs, as sung by the late Minnie Riperton:

...via this thread on Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/c...m-comments

Here's more about the song:
https://genius.com/Minnie-riperton-les-fleur-lyrics