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:

Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole, Heath Ledger

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 21 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 ...

---

Plot Keywords:

lucifer morningstar character | rescue | bridge | midget | birthday | 

---

Taglines:

The man who tried to cheat the devil.

---

Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Mystery

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Sony Pictures Classics [United States]

Country:

UK Canada France USA

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:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£905,786 (United Kingdom), 18 October 2009, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$334,183, 27 December 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$7,689,607, 27 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

After his passing, Verne Troyer and Lily Cole both got heart tattoos in memory of Heath Ledger. Lily Cole's tattoo is visable on her wrist in a few scenes throughout the film, including the one inside the mirror when she is wearing the red dress and Colin Farrell is playing Tony.

---

Goofs

After Valentina is lost, Nick lights a cigarette. Between shots, it moves from one side of his mouth to the other.

---

Quotes

Dr. Parnassus: You can't stop a story being told.
Mr. Nick: That's a weak hypothesis.

---

Crazy Credits

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

---

Connections

References Gunga Din (1939)

---

Soundtracks

Yours Forever
Written by Dave Laudat, Paul Moran, André Jacquemin (as Andre Jacquemin)
Performed by Natalie Broekman

User Reviews

Deep and beautiful movie, requires a special mood and a bit of thinking

It would have been hard not to like this movie, since I had early previews from friends that it is boring and pointless, so my expectations were really down. I did watch it, nonetheless, and I am glad I did. If you ever watched Tideland, you know Terry Gilliam is capable of works of terrible beauty, often concocted from the ugliest bits life can provide; such is this film.

This is Heath Ledger's last film, he died during filming it, but his character is not the main one, just the extra ingredient needed to take all the important ones out of their equilibrium state. Because of this tragedic death, other actors came to fill up the role, such as Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell.

And still, the important character, the Faust that can't keep himself from betting with a mischievous devil that isn't even very unfriendly, is Christopher Plummer's, who played marvelously at his age of 81. I loved the way the devil was toying with him, addicted to playing games that he didn't want to win in the end so that he keeps playing. The visuals were great, the atmosphere both miraculous and brooding, but rarely in the same time. And Lily Cole was cute and sexy as hell.

Bottom line: a weird film that you need to think about to get at his many hidden meanings, with beautiful imaginative imagery and great actors. What is not to like?