First look at Heath Ledger's last film

A video in which Terry Gilliam talks about The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus has been released. It's the first look at the final film of actor Heath Ledger. He never completed the role, and the remaining footage was completed by Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell. Hopes are high for this one. Heath Ledger deserves a great final film, and Terry Gilliam deserves a bit of luck and a hit. Released next year.

BRAZIL (1985) - Terry Gilliam

Terry Gilliam once again brings his weird and absurd vision to the screen in his 1985 film, Brazil. Gilliam's warped vision of the future is of a society where bureaucracy has run amok. Everything requires paperwork, and even the simplest procedure is wrapped up in red tape. Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) is a bureaucrat working in the Ministry of Information. It's a boring job of paperwork and procedure. There is nothing exciting for Lowry, except for trying to sneak in a movie under the nose of his weak and slightly dumb boss (Ian Holm). However, Lowry lives a second life, one in his dreams, where he is an armored super hero, complete with Icarus-like wings. He soars a beautiful and vibrant skyline, where he sees visions of a woman, whom he must free from imprisonment in a cage. One night, Lowry's air-conditioning breaks down. He calls Central Services, but due to a recent series of terrorist attacks, they are unable to see to him. On the scene arrives Harry Tuttle (Robert DeNiro), a renegade handy-man and anarchist to boot, who fixes Lowry's AC and disappears into the night. And in Lowry, a sense of adventure is born. He begins to see his woman in his dream in reality and sets about hunting down the mystery girl down.



Gilliam's films are always a visual feast, and none so more as here. His vision of the future is a cold, sanitized retro-futuristic mix. Every image and scene is rich in detail, and although this is my first viewing, I will definitely be checking it out again, as I'm sure I missed plenty following the plot. What's remarkable about the film is how prophetic it is, and how much of the themes in Gilliam, Tom Stoppard and Charles McKeown's screenplay resonate today. The government is obsessed with knowing everything about everyone. Privacy is almost non-existent. When someone is arrested, they have a sack placed over their heads and are locked up indefinitely without trial. Sound familiar? This leads to an underground movement of terrorists determined to free the people. But the film is about Lowry, so these details serve the film rather than being the entire focus of the story.



Jonathan Pryce plays Lowry as a meek, almost cowardly character. He turns down promotion and is quite happy to live a quiet, anonymous existence. It's only his obsession that drives him to become proactive. The cast is peppered by familiar faces, including Holm, Michael Palin and Jim Broadbent. However, Robert DeNiro's cameo as Harry Tuttle is the standout in the crowd. His manic anarchist handyman is a kind of paranoid James Bond, turning up, getting the job done, and disappearing without thanks or payment. It's great to see a comedic DeNiro role that doesn't leave you rolling your eyes.
Gilliam's film, is as always, incredibly beautiful. I can understand some not really taking to his 1984-esque vision of things to come. However, the film is quite accessible (unlike the recently released Tideland) and holds plenty for those willing to give it a shot.

8/10

TIDELAND (2005) - Terry Gilliam

Poor old Terry Gilliam. If there's one director in the industry who just cannot catch a break, it's him. Constant battles with studios, films getting critically panned, even a feature cancelled mid-production. Gilliam doesn't have it easy. In 2005, he released Tideland, his most critically attacked and poorly received film to date. Is this because this film is as anti-Hollywood as you can get? Or is it just a horrible piece of work?
Jeliza-Rose is the 10 year old daughter of a junkie musician, Noah (Jeff Bridges) and his junkie wife (Jennifer Tilly). When not cooking up heroin for her father, she's looking after her mother. When her mother dies, Noah takes Jeliza-Rose back to his childhood home on the prairie. There, Jeliza-Rose is isolated from almost all human contact except for a lobotomised epileptic by the name of Dickens and his older, psychotic taxidermist sister, Dell. Jeliza-Rose's behavior becomes increasingly erratic as she retreats into her own fantasy world inhabited by the voices of her four disembodied doll's heads.

As you can well imagine, this film is a hard sell. Gilliam himself appears before the movie and warns us that many viewers will hate the movie. It's not surprising that he offers this caveat, as Tideland is a very strange, dark but comic film about a twisted, horrible series of events seen through the innocent eyes of a ten year old girl. There are undertones of paedophelia and necrophelia that run through certain parts of the film, and while these tones are seriously played down by Gilliam, it will leave some viewers feeling slightly uncomfortable.
However, Tideland is yet another brilliantly crafted film from Gilliam. He is one of the most unique directors working today, and Tideland is just further proof of his talent. Despite the obvious dark subject matter, Gilliam manages to create a brilliantly twisted, yet somewhat light-hearted world that echoes the style he has shown in his previous films. Gilliam himself described the film as Alice in Wonderland meets Psycho, but there are also echoes of Terrence Mallick's Days of Heaven, and even Andrew Wyeth's painting, Christina's World thrown in for good measure. Special mention must be made of Jodelle Ferland's performance in the central role of Jeliza-Rose. She is the gateway into her fantasy world, and her performance is fantastic. Despite the horrible events Jeliza-Rose witnesses, Ferland portrays her innocent character with enthusiasm and a massive amount of energy.

Tideland is possibly one of the hardest films you'll ever try to sell to someone. I can say without a doubt, the average Joe Popcorn will hate this film. But for fans of Gilliam's work (Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) it is another fantastic work of art. Criminally underrated? Yes. But understandably so too.