Lost In La Mancha

Because Terry Gilliam is unquestionably one of the great film directors of our time, Lost in La Mancha, a documentary that captures the collapse of his attempt to make a movie out of Don Quixote, makes for fascinating but painful viewing. Dogged by a reputation for being wasteful and out-of-control, Gilliam had to fight to gather the funding for the project, but the assembled cast (including French actor Jean Rochefort and Johnny Depp) and the fantastic design elements promised something glorious. Then jets flying overhead, flash floods, and the ill health of a lead actor completely sideswiped the already delicate production. The increasing stress and unhappiness of the filmmakers is gripping, but what truly tantalizes are the few bits of film that Gilliam managed to shoot--only two or three minutes of screen time, but enough to suggest a magnificent vision. --Bret Fetzer