Narrative - Lost In La Mancha

Fig. 1

Lost In La Mancha (2002) - Directors: Keith Fulton,  Louis Pepe.

 

An in-depth, voyeuristic look at how all the ingredients to make something good can still manage to go bad. Terry Gilliam’s 'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote' never hit the cutting room; the film was abandoned weeks into production due to 'Force Majeure'. What did make the cutting room was the footage documenting the unfortunate lake of production.

Fig 2.

When watching a film there's always a desire for the viewer to want to see something succeed, a protagonist that battles the odds and wins. When watching a real life documentary that desire is still there but often doesn't get quenched. During the documented production of 'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote' Gilliam was our protagonist, he battled the odds trying to make a film that he had planned for many years. Gilliam had set back after set back to cope with, but his tenacity was still so strong, the BBC elaborate "Gilliam, whose enthusiasm and imagination keep the shoot going long after it seems impossible to continue." It was heart breaking to see him defeated time and again.

Fig 3.

Late acters, an ill lead actor, severe weather problems, and a sound stage with bad acoustics all contribute to the demise of Gilliam’s project. What little footage that was shot is a rare glimpse of what could have been. It could be difficult to really see how the film would have been, but you can’t help but wonder. Time Out conclude “One may not get a clear idea of how the film would have turned out, but there's certainly poignancy to seeing these brief fragments of a shattered dream.” A shattered dream that should have another chance.

Trailer



Bibliography

Lost In La Mancha, BBC, 2002, [Online] avaliable at http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2002/07/24/lost_in_la_mancha_2002_review.shtml   [Accessed 27 September 2011]

Lost In La Mancha, Timeout, 2002, [Online] avaliable at http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/80727/lost_in_la_mancha.html [Accessed 27 September 2011]

Image Bibliography

Fig 1 . Lost In La Mancha, DVD cover, 2002, [photography] http://www.smart.co.uk/lostinlamancha/media/usposter.jpg

Fig 2 . Lost In La Mancha, Still, 2002, [photography] http://thecia.com.au/reviews/l/images/lost-in-la-mancha-6.jpg

Fig 3 . Lost In La Mancha, Still, 2002, [photography] http://thecia.com.au/reviews/l/images/lost-in-la-mancha-6.jpg