The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

A traveling theater company gives its audience much more than they were expecting.

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Writers:

Terry Gilliam, Charles McKeown

Stars:

Andrew Garfield, Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andrew Garfield	...	Anton
Christopher Plummer	...	Doctor Parnassus
Richard Riddell	...	Martin
Katie Lyons	...	Martin's Girlfriend
Richard Shanks	...	Friend of Martin
Lily Cole	...	Valentina
Verne Troyer	...	Percy
Bruce Crawford	...	Face Changed Martin
Johnny Harris	...	Policeman
Lorraine Cheshire	...	Mum
Mark Benton	...	Dad
Lewis Gott	...	Diego
Sian Scott	...	Linda
Simon Day	...	Uncle Bob (as Simon Daye)
Moya Brady	...	Aunty Flo

Storyline

In London, the sideshow troupe of Doctor Parnassus promises the audience a journey to the "Imaginarium", an imaginary world commanded by the mind of Doctor Parnassus, where dreams come true. In the stories that Doctor Parnassus tells to his daughter Valentina, the midget Percy, and his assistant Anton, he claims to have lived for more than one thousand years; However, when he fell in love with a mortal woman, he made a deal with the devil (Mr. Nick), trading his immortality for youth. As part of the bargain, he promised his son or daughter to Mr. Nick on their sixteenth birthday. Valentina is now almost to the doomed age and Doctor Parnassus makes a new bet with Mr. Nick, whoever seduces five souls in the Imaginarium will have Valentina as a prize. Meanwhile the troupe rescues Tony, a young man that was hanged on a bridge by the Russians. Tony was chased until he finds and joins the group. Tony and Valentina fall in love with each other and the jealous Anton discovers that his ...

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Plot Keywords:

rescue | bet | immortality | dream | imaginary world | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violent images, some sensuality, language and smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Filmexport [fr] Official site

Country:

UK Canada France

Language:

English Russian French

Release Date:

8 January 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

El imaginario mundo del Doctor Parnassus

Filming Locations:

Battersea Power Station, Battersea, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$334,183 (USA) (25 December 2009)

Gross:

$7,689,458 (USA) (21 May 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Infinity Features Entertainment, Poo Poo Pictures, Parnassus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film contains various references to the classic staging of Samuel Beckett's play 'Waiting For Godot' including Tom Waits' black suit and bowler hat and Jude Law dragging a rope noosed around his neck (as does Lucky in the play)

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Goofs

At the part where Tony (played by Colin Farrell) and Valentina are in the Gondola, there is a shadow of someone walking behind the screen, in the back, between when they are talking about how perfect it is and that they have to make a choice.

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Quotes

Dr. Parnassus: I'll kill you you son of a bitch.
Mr. Nick: Now that I'd like to see.

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Crazy Credits

After the credits, Tony's mobile ring tone can clearly be heard

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: The Lovely Bones/The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus/The White Ribbon (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Say It With Music"
Performed by Chris Garrick, Martin Robertson, Phil Todd, Jamie Talbot,
Derek Watkins, John Barclay, Neil Sidwell, Owen Slade,
, Dave Hartley, John Parricelli, Ian Thomas
Written by Irving Berlin
Licensed courtesy of: Irving Berlin Music Company

User Reviews

Requires an IQ over 80 and at least a 15 second attention span

Many reviewers wrote they could not sit through the film. Sadly, in today's "I must constantly be entertained with my 1.5 second attention span", moviegoers tend to actually stomach "Gone In Sixty Seconds" yet cannot follow an intelligent, thoughtful film, replete with the fantastic imagination of Terry Gilliam. I had little trouble not only following this film, but following the changes of characters caused by Heath Ledger's death. Actually, the best of the characters was Johnny Depp, as usual. Everyone else who played the part, including Ledger, seemed to be walking through the lines. Overall, I loved the film. It definitely should have won best set decoration, and Christopher Plummer should have been a candidate for best actor. But as I said, short attention spans and focus on mindless drivel like the constant barrage of car theft shows indicates a somewhat less sophisticated audience that may not appreciate an intelligent film.