Film Review : The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus

Terry Gilliam's film career has generally never been one to court the easy option or to produce an "easy" movie. Where he's attempted the latter (e.g. The Brothers Grimm) it's usually been a bit of a failure. His best movies have tended to be the ones that have allowed his imagination full flow onto the screen - Brazil, in its intended form, being perhaps the best evidence of that.

Occasionally, the mainstream and Gilliam have crossed paths and both The Fisher King and Twelve Monkeys are examples of imaginative and popular cinema that we perhaps don't see enough of these days.

His latest film has received more publicity than most given that its' star, Heath Ledger, passed away during the shoot. Most people were probably ready to put this down as another piece of bad luck of the type that seemingly has nothing better to do than follow Gilliam around. After some thought, Gilliam decided that there was a way to finish the film (as appeared to be the desire of the others involved in the production) without impinging on the credibility of either film or Ledger's memory.

I'm delighted to report that this has been achieved with some distinction. The movie is full of the surrealism and imagination that we've come to expect from Gilliam, but the tale itself is remarkably linear. Certainly, those who perhaps enjoy the visual aspects of Gilliam in full flight but find themselves scratching their heads in puzzlement at what it all meant will find this to be a pleasure.

Ledger's absence was dealt with (as has been more than adequately reported elsewhere) by his character being played by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell. The general idea of looks being transformed when you step behind the mirror into Doctor Parnassus imagination is set early on so it's no surprise when Ledger's transformation into his three friends occurs.

The story itself is a morality tale involving the Devil (excellently played by Tom Waits) , the titular Doctor (Christopher Plummer in top form) and his daughter (played by relative newcomer Lily Cole - there's no doubt we'll be seeing more of her in the future). Parnassus having previously made a deal with the Devil to gain immortality had entered into a subsequent deal which allowed him to capture the woman of his dreams. As with all such deals this came at a price, and that involved any offspring from the union to become the property of the Devil on their 16th birthday. Needless to say, the story commences a few days before this event.

Ledger is introduced into the tale as a mysterious stranger who was found seemingly hanged. Who is he, and why was he found in that condition? Is he a friend sent to assist Parnassus, or a trick of the Devil to make sure that the consequences of the pact comes to fruition?

Parnassus moves around London with a travelling circus which allows people to enter his imagination via a mirror, and it is by entering this that the other characters covering Ledgers' part come into play. Each time a different element of the character is revealed until the truth is revealed about his life.

It would appear that all of Ledgers' shots were concerned with the "real" world before his untimely death, and the transformations to the other actors works extremely well and seems well in fitting with the story.

Ledger's performance is very good but not quite as all encompassing as his Joker. It is nevertheless clear that the film world lost an actor of the highest calibre with his untimely passing.

This is a wonderfully imaginative film that, whilst not quite up there with Gilliam's best, should do extremely well on the back of the unwanted publicity that it has received. Hopefully, it will encourage others to investigate some of the more challenging areas of Gilliam's canon.

Concert Review : Pallas - The Ferry, Glasgow

There are times you might feel a bit short changed when the support act only plays three songs. But when two of them are fifteen minutes each, and the other is twenty minutes long then that can only mean one thing.

Said support act were Abel Ganz, a local prog band of some repute but which I hadn't heard until this evenings show. Short songs were clearly at a premium, but they had interesting and diverse instrumentation with strong vocals. From my perspective, they ticked the right box as melody and structure was prominent, with technical ability to the rear. (I always prefer musicians with the technical ability to appreciate that less is often better).

With a new album out (four tracks - what else would you expect!) they will probably be subject to closer investigation by these ears.

Headline act for the evening was the Aberdeen-based Pallas. The band made a bit of a splash in the early 1980's but whilst aware of them I never heard during this period. Reconvening in the mid-90's the band have made a series of fine albums, most notably The Cross And The Crucible which was my entry point into their world.

Since then, I've heard their 1980's albums and would suggest that they are a much better band now. Not least, because the music is shorn of some of the 1980's production values which are evident on both The Sentinel and The Wedge which, at least in retrospect, does nothing to enhance the music.

Original singer Euan Lowson left the band after The Sentinel - a powerful singer who also seemed to suggest that it was necessary for prog bands of that era to be fronted by a psychotic Scotsman - he was replaced by the diminutive Alan Reed who brought a very different style of voice to the band. That line-up remains intact to this day and they present a very powerful show that would easily transfer to a larger stage.

The performance included three new songs from their forthcoming album (written but yet to be recorded) which suggests that their fine run of form is likely to be maintained. The set featured recent material more strongly but still found room for some earlier material, including Euan Lowson featuring on a couple of songs.

It's probably usual to regret how a band of such obvious quality aren't able to reach a wider audience. However, the balance is that I suspect is that the quality of what they do is also a result of the band not being the be-all and end-all of their lives. The band have "serious" jobs which means that whilst their musical adventures have to be secondary - but that could well be the secret ingredient that makes what they produce when they are able to play all the better for it. And for that we should be grateful.

Film Review : Up

I've always been a fan of the Pixar movies as they have never forgotten the primacy of the tale in their productions. They make great use of the latest technologies but not at the expense of a story you can commit to regardless of age.

This continues with their tenth film Up which has proven to be a runaway success in the United States where it was released in the early summer. That will almost certainly be repeated here in the United Kingdom following its' belated release last Friday.

Where it does move into fresh territory is in featuring a grumpy old widower in his seventies struggling to cope with the death of his childhood sweetheart. The first ten minutes of the movie presents a snapshot of the key milestones in their life together, and if you get to the end of this without a lump in your throat then you do need to check if you are the owner of a heart, lonely or otherwise.

This sequence has attracted some criticism for one particular scene where it shows that the couple were unable to have children. I'd got the impression that this was laid on somewhat thickly and have seen it described as overly manipulative but it didn't strike me that way at all. On the contrary, it seemed to provide a necessary understanding to why the lead character Carl found it difficult to build a relationship with young Russell when he appeared on the scene - an older man with a family would have been able to empathise much more readily than occurred in our tale.

Whilst the introduction is very serious and emotional (but without becoming too sentimental) the film moves on to the main story. Carl seeks to revisit the dreams of his youth and, in particular, to make the trip that he'd promised his late wife and to try and expunge some of the guilt he feels about his apparent failure for not being able to fulfil this whilst she was alive.

Needless to say, the inevitable children and animals are called in to support the tale, with Christopher Plummer voicing the villain in disgraced explorer Charles Muntz in grand style.

The film is primarily a 3-D movie (or, at least, in the Cineworld in Glasgow you can see it regularly in 3-D but only once a day in 2-D) and this is well done providing a real sense of depth and perspective. It's very light on tricks and a lot better for this in my opinion.

Next up for Pixar is Toy Story 3 which will be out next summer - the trailer looks enticing and there's no sign of the Pixar bubble bursting any time soon.