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The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, 2009

Hey all hope everything is going well. Today I will be reviewing the film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus directed by Terry Gilliam staring Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Andrew Garfield and Lily Cole. But other famous faces include Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell.

I wanted to tell you what the story of this movie was but as I was about to write I had to think - how can I really explain something that I don't quite understand. I don't want to tell you the whole story because well that would ruin it. So here is the best I can conjure up. This is a tale of many tales about good and evil and most importantly a man's ability to play out one's desires. Doctor Parnassus is a strange old man with powers and abilities that cannot be believed without witnessing it yourself. Experience a land or place where your desires and dreams can be shown and lived. Where your imagination can run wild into the wind, where anything can be achieved. Wouldn't that be a wonderful place? But of course nothing is ever that rosy. Doctor Parnassus has a secret, a terrifying secret, a secret that if you knew you may reconsider ever entering his imaginarium. Doctor Parnassus has made a deal with the Devil, a life of immortality for the life of his first born child. But of course the Devil is a tricky fella could Doctor Parnassus free his daughter from the Devil? Could a mysterious stranger be the answer to his woes or bring him more misfortune.

Okay I hope that little tease was enough to tantalize your innate curiosity. Now to the business end of this review. Well visually this was an amazing film to watch where beautiful scenes are created. And the concept of the world created by Gilliam with the devil and Doctor Parnassus was intriguing and delight to watch. It was like when you were a child and you were being told about the old folk stories. It played on those old folk stories about good and evil and about how evil can trick mortals into questionable situations. It was great in that sense but the delivery was not as smooth as I would have liked it. As I mentioned earlier I wasn't quite sure if I had even understood the movie in the first place. The concept of the imaginarium or what it was actually was revealed really slowly and since it was never truly explained what it actually does remains a mystery to me. I understand some of it but there are still aspects that are cloudy. I understand Gilliam is trying to make a world of mystery but I feel at little cheated as I never quite understood what the purpose of imaginarium or why Doctor Parnassus needed to keeping doing the shows. Thus much of the movie was confusing and the story was disjointed and didn't make much sense. But it was so pretty to watch and the characters were so engaging and for most the time you're hooked because you're waiting for some explanation or really wondering where is this movie going. It's incredibly intriguing and engaging as a result. Brilliant cast with Heath Ledger as the mysterious stranger Tony, Plummer as Doctor Parnassus and Tom Waits as Mr. Nick/devil. Ledger is great in this as he is in everything but I guess I'm bias but I think his character of Tony was so well created - was he good or was he bad? I can't really tell but I guess that's part of the fun. The clear hero is the sweet love-sick Anton (Garfield) another member of Dr. Parnassus's show. Garfield is adorable in this movie but he is really always adorable thus really not much of a stretch. And fantastic performances from Ledger's famous friends (Depp, Law and Farrell) essentially if weren't for them we would not have seen the final product.

So the final words on The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is that it’s so pretty and engaging that you nearly forget its shortcomings. But I like I said nearly, it is still quite confusing and a little disjointed and there will be no doubts a whole lot of huhs and whats during the screening. But don't dismiss it for if fantasy is your thing this is definitely something that should be watched. If not watch it because of Ledger as this was officially his last film.

Lastly I just wanted to make a quick announcement I suppose, I’m going to be a little busy in the next month thus my reviewing and updating will probably decrease. I know this isn’t that crazy I do seem to disappear all the time. But please be patient I will return and thank you again for reading or even caring to take a peek at my blog. Much appreciated I shall be back soon.

Adieu and much love,
Samira =D

I totally forgot to give it a rating I'm giving it a 7.7/10

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