It’s been awhile since I’ve liveblogged. The last time I did it was at a trade show. So I”m getting back into the habit.
The first thing I want to liveblog is the movie, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
What Is Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus?
I’m gonna find out here before long. Thanks to the obnoxious upsell process on Dish TV, I started the move 5 minutes late.
So far someone dropped off stage, slipped into a mud puddle, fumbled through a maze of drunken bottles, whirlwinded through a haze of mystical jellyfish before being dropped on the underside of a thumbtack and forced to choose between Dr. Parnassus’s enlightenment and Mr. Nick’s bar.
What happened after that?
“Will we miss him? I don’t think so.”
The current-day police seem confused.
It’s the mirror that means everything…takes one from a traveling side show Shakespearean tent called “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” and into a candyland of surrealism. I’m suspecting it to be the real imaginaruim. And then a choice is made between good and evil…
“He’s come to collect.” – I think it to be the devil. (I didn’t know Verne Troyer was still alive).
And the plot is a-rolling. Trying not to give too much away, but the doctor’s young daughter is thinkin’ of running away but now Doctor Parnassus starts to tell the story.
Characters in Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus:
- Doctor Parnassus – Christopher Plummer
- Devil – Tom Waits
- Percy – Verne
- Valentina – Doctor Parnassus’ Daughter
- Anton – The teenager assistant who’s in love with the daughter
It’s gonna be about an old man retelling his youth. I can get on board with that…Nope, I lied.
Amazing special effects so far. Tapered with Buddhists realms here in the beginning.
Damn, Dish TV. I paused it for a phone call and it stopped it. Now Heath Ledger is here and I’m not sure who he is. Is it Dr. Parnassus?
Grrr. Nope, there’s Doctor Parnassus so it can’t be the guy.
Heath was hanging from a noose. But five minutes later he’s got the girls from the supermarket to come watch the show.
Talk about fumbling into brilliance, Ledger’s character wears a mask with a Pinocchio-lying nose half the tie.
Now the devil (Tom Waits) has bet the doctor on the first to five souls. I mean, who makes that bet?
The ‘mirror’ is becoming a metaphor.
But the Doctor’s backstory is becoming surreal. Stories with immortals often are.
If you can’t handle the gondola scene in Marry Poppins cut short by a heard of dead gurnsey cattle floating in the stream, then don’t watch this.
But for those like me, now I’m only interested.
Heath’s character, Tony, is a real-time hero. Flawed, passionate. And because the Doctor saved Tony’s life, Tony wants to return the favor.
“Do you believe in coincidence?” asked the Doctor.
And the traveling show has a Alice in Wonderland / Clockwork Orange sensation.
And Tony jumps into the imaginarium for the first time…and turns into Johnny Deep. Nice way transition the character.
And the healing begins
But Tony’s past returns and he jumps into the mirror and becomes…Jude Law.
Believe it or not he’s walking on air.
What’s with Russians and their nooses?
It’s cool that they don’t ignore the fact that different characters play Tony. The other characters don’t recognize him at first. It’s the burn marks that make the difference. And the “different faces” blends into the story line.
And Jude gets to be the actor that tells Tony’s backstory.
Wow, they’re fumbling into brilliance again…they must have done Ledger’s work before they did the special effects because Ledger’s actually been able to be in throughout the movie. Makes me want to watch “The Dark Knight,” again.
And here come Farrell’s part.
Given Farrell’s recent history, he’s the perfect person to play the part.
And, yeah, the end of this movie is the reason to see it.
And the end isn’t the end. I would have been mad were it.
How Was the Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus?
I’ve seen infinitely worse. But now as I watch the bit I missed in the beginning, I realize that, had I’d seen it the first time, the rest of the movie would have made much more sense…somewhat. It’s a bit surreal, a bit metaphysical, and just short of completely letting go which will lead some people to believe it to be “over the top.”
In fact I hope they do. I don’t always like to share treasures with everyone 🙂
- Ledger plays a great role, once again.
- Plummer, once again, plays a prototypical sage with mortal flaws that people have begun to take for granted.
- Depp is suave.
- Law was his mercurial self.
- And Farrell was, well, Farrell.
- And Tom Waits as the devil. It makes me want to listen to some of his tunes.
Excellent post