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Watching Dr. Parnassus was, for me, like drinking apple juice. You're sitting there thinking "Wow, I'm really enjoying this great apple juice- but you know, it could be CIDER." To give a short synopsis, Parnassus is trying to be a quirky, symbolic film, one that revels in its own weirdness, a film with magnificent ideas and imagination.Well, the film's ideas ARE brilliant. The way those ideas come together, however, is messy and flawed. The things that should be immediately clear are not, and a lot of things that should have been left unclear aren't. To explain, the normal, ordinary facts of the story are unclear and confusing, while the quirky symbolism- the bit that's actually meant to be unclear- leaves nothing to the imagination.Example: In one symbolic scene, a character is shown climbing a gigantic ladder into the clouds. "Ohoho, it's a metaphor for the ladder to success!" I chuckled to myself, feeling smart for getting it- Until a booming narrator voice chimed in. "CLIMB THAT LADDER TO SUCCESS! SEE, IT'S SYMBOLISM! GET IT? GET IT!?" Example: The main character makes a bargain- eternal youth in return for his soul- with Mr. Nick, a shifty, mustachioed'd figure dressed all in black. Having trouble figuring out who this villain is? Well, no need to worry, because the film immediately clears it up- He's the Devil, for your information. Duh.In comparison, the things that we SHOULD get immediately- the details of the plot- are often muddled or misjudged. Example: I am still not sure where one of the characters is meant to have come from, or where exactly he went.It's small things like these that made me cringe at the wasted potential of the film. But, below its potential, it's still a great film. The films ideas are brilliant, and you can still see them shining there in the film, even if it's through glass that's a bit muddy. There are scenes where it really does fully rise to its potential, and the symbolism becomes delicious and satisfying.So, go see it. It's not perfect, but it's wonky, unclear, muddled, greatness. And I think I might prefer that to a movie that aimed low and made it.
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