BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

SnoopyStyle Director Terry Gilliam tries to film the classic "Don Quixote de la Mancha" as his "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote". He struggles with financing and moves from Hollywood to Europe. It's a big production but the budget is scaled back from $40 to $32 million. Jean Rochefort is playing Don Quixote joined by Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis. As the production gets going, problems mount and the filming process sputters. This is basically a behind-the-scenes featurette that would be included in the DVD if the movie actually was made. Except this is much better. It's not all sunshine and roses. It shows the struggles and tribulations of a real visionary under the stress of the real world. The material is not quite as epic as "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse" but it's still quite compelling.

lastliberal I thoroughly enjoyed Chris Smith's documentary American Movie, but this is Terry Gilliam (Brazil, 12 Monkeys, The Fisher King) trying to make a $30+ million movie, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, starring Brad Pitt, Vanessa Paradis, and Jean Rochefort. You know the law: What can go wrong, will go wrong. This is that story.Orson Welles worked thirty years to bring Quixote to the screen, and failed. Gilliam worked 10 and had to start with about $8 million less than planned. This affected the ability to pay actors, and they agreed to work for less than usual. That meant they had to fit the filming in their schedules. Getting them to Spain for rehearsal was to be a real challenge. A week before production was to begin, they still did not have Depp or Paradis on set.Finally, it is production time and the rains come. Nothing seemed to go right. After five days of production. you could see the frustration in everyone's faces. Then Rochefort leaves to see his doctor and they do not know what will happen next.In the end, the plug was pulled because it could not go on without Rochefort, who was seriously ill.A fascinating tale of the travails of film-making.

Desmond Florence A brilliant documentary about what indeed can go wrong on a film and how fortunate we are too see many great films come to life. Making a film is like re-creating life, and this film show us how difficult it can indeed be. If ever, it's here where Murphy's law applies deeply.After reading the comments here I have little to add - All of them say what I want to say. I would have liked to see this film come out though! Since I am a great fan of Terry and all his films.I think there should be made a documentary on Gilliam, it's definitely something that I would like to see. His imagination and his self-destructiveness are what make him an excellent filmmaker.

kelshawd "It can't exist. Because if it does exist, it's too painful." Terry GilliamLost in LaManchaLiterary themes of any depth endure across time. After Hours and The Matrix reflect elements of a prodigal journey. Peckinpah's westerns and Scorcese's street films illustrate baser forms of the survival instinct in a lawless frontier. This documentary rivals the value of titles of the classical canon.In the documentary Lost in LaMancha there is the fracture between Terry Gilliam's romantic vision (obsession?) with The Man Who Killed Don Quixote and the rational view of the modern film industry. Gilliam's phenomenology is elevated, romantic and remote from consensus reality. And Like Quixote, consensus reality wins out. And once again, film and fiction are built on a timeless theme.Both Don Q and Don G are middle-aged and, in a sense, "taking stock" of their life experiences. Quixote collects personal effects: a run-down steed, some make-shift armor, and a basin for a helmet. For Gilliam, the quest begins with a summation of the Python-esqe animation (for example, the Sisyphus figure pushing the movie reel up the hill in futility only to see it sail down the other side,) and references to the Munchausen debacle. "Is Gilliam pushing the stone up the hillside AGAIN?" Both shore up what they need for the journey ahead.Gilliam's windmills play out as the "force majuer," elements out of his control. Rains wash away the production equipment, celebrity schedules, contracts and deadlines hit and miss on the calendar, and failing health of one essential actor (deemed by "Dr." Gilliam as psychosomatic,) bring production to a halt. Quixote assails his windmills frontally, sword in hand as Sancho Panza tells him "They are only windmills." Gilliam waits for the wind to stop oscillating the blades of his windmills and his Sancho Panza (Phillip Patterson,) finally says "Look. You're not going to make the 'film' YOU want to make." In other words, "This is not a windmill, this is a crisis. Rochefort is NOT coming back, so get a clue. Dosomething or I will leave." Dropping Rochefort is not in Gilliam's agenda. Can Don G's will conquer the day to day grief of the film business? Or does he grow extravagant in his romance?In any case, Quixote's bottom line is to march forth in battle to earn merit of knighthood from any on-looking monarch willing to dub him. Gilliam's monarchs (the financiers,) don't bequeath titles of chivalry, but of stewardship. There lies the effects of time on a well-worn tale. Quixote's (and thus Cervantes',) culture and historic period served as a backdrop for Q's need to create a world he could exist in vs. the more pessimistic view of consensus reality. In Gilliam's world, consensus reality itself takes on magnanimous proportions beyond mythic fantasies. After Rochefort's back injury, rain storms and the bean-counting, number-crunching paradigm of the insurance company halt production, one wonders: Maybe Cervantes was right and didn't know it. Maybe giants ARE real. They do exist, and they are painful.This is a very well-done documentary with depth and substance that infrequently visits mortals, and almost consoles me over the failure of Gilliam's project.