Movie Reviews

Lost in La Mancha is a documentary on the "un-making of" director Terry Gilliam's attempted film version of the story of Don Quixote. Gilliam is responsible for such unique films as Brazil, 12 Monkeys, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. As we learn early on in Lost in La Mancha (which actually began filming with the intent of becoming a "making of" documentary for the Quixote film's eventual DVD release), Gilliam explains that he'd been aspiring to film Quixote's story for decades, and had finally acquired the funding to begin it.

The project starts off promisingly enough -- actors are cast (including Johnny Depp in one of the main parts), beautiful locations are scouted in Spain, and everyone involved is in high spirits, particularly Gilliam. A few important scenes are even filmed in one of the dry Spanish-desert locations.

Then the trouble starts. A severe and sudden rainstorm washes out the desert during filming one day, and damages much of their film equipment. Afterwards, not only does the crew have to stop filming and wait for better weather (an expensive prospect when that means keeping the crew on call in the middle of nowhere), but the rain storm also dramatically alters the look of the land (the sand turns a different shade of brown and greenery starts sprouting all over the place), so future scenes shot in the same spot would look out of place alongside earlier scenes. Soon after, health problems begin to plague the elderly gentleman playing the character of Don Quixote. Then, it seems funding is in trouble when doubts are cast as to whether insurance will cover the damaged film equipment. And so on, and so on.

As a filmed documentary in its own right, Lost in La Mancha only seemed to me to be slightly above average. It doesn't seem as passionate about its subject (the Quixote film) as perhaps it should have -- I got the sense that it was largely just a low-budget, middle-effort attempt at a "making of" DVD special feature. But the subject itself is pretty fascinating. How often do you hear of a big-name director beginning work on a project, and then having to call the whole thing off due to unfortunate, unanticipated problems? Disappointing, too, considering what a visionary director Gilliam is, and considering that the film might've really been something special.

For anyone interested in what goes on "behind the scenes" of a film -- and how they can go so horribly wrong -- I'd definitely recommend Lost in La Mancha.