Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

Deb 9 Me 7

Here’s a treat. This is one of those fantasy films and so it somehow isn’t restricted to having a traditional story or plot, it just has to keep you interested. And I stayed interested all the way through. Now I have to admit something right up front; the only reason I went to see the movie was because Tom Waits is in it. I’ll check out anything Tom is up to. With him as bait we went to see a fun little movie.

From the opening scene the screen is filled with bizarre and compelling imagery. It’s really a cool movie to look at, and that’s about all you can do with this kind of movie because there are so many distractions and so many holes in the story that you can’t get involved on that level. I’ve heard that one of the performers passed away while making the film. I don’t know which player it was or if that punched holes in the story or not. But the look of the film was consistent and that seemed to be the most important aspect of the production.

So it’s titillating. It’s fun to watch. Some scenes paid homage to visual artists like Grant Wood and Maxfield Parrish, and references to the fairly obscure Odd Nerdrum was way cool. The real attraction was Waits.

I gave it a 7.

Deb would have given it a 10 except for unanswered questions about the story, and so she gave it a 9. She likes Terry Gilliam movies and talks about his 1985 film Brazil often.

I liked Time Bandits and hated Fisher King. The other movies he made I avoided on purpose, so I guess I’m not a fan.

But we're both Waits fans and both enjoyed the movie.