The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

2018 • Terry Gilliam w/Adam Driver, Jonathan Pryce, Stellan Skarsgård, Olga Kurylenko, Joana Ribeiro • 132 min; DCP

Toby (Driver), a cynical advertising director, finds himself trapped in the outrageous delusions of an old Spanish shoe-maker who believes himself to be Don Quixote (Pryce). In the course of their comic and increasingly surreal adventures, Toby is forced to confront the tragic repercussions of a film he made in his idealistic youth – a film that changed the hopes and dreams of a small Spanish village forever. Can Toby make amends and regain his humanity? Can Don Quixote survive his madness and imminent death? Or will love conquer all?

Decades in the making, Terry Gilliam’s passion project has finally seen the light of day and – good news! – it’s not a complete disaster. While it’s difficult for Gilliam to raise to the past heights of Brazil or Time Bandits and this particular film (as documented in the behind-the-scenes film Lost in La Mancha) took a physical and mental toll on its director, THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE is nonetheless a fun adventure of a film with big ideas (sometimes too big), a great cast, and a legendary writer/director finally achieving his goal. Why waste your time watching this on TV when you can see it on the big screen here at the Brattle?!