“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” is in theaters now as the last film that Heath Ledger, playing sub-protagonist Tony, ever made. As far as director Terry Gilliam’s work is concerned, it is not as compelling to me as some of his imaginary work that sets problems for the “real world” (like “12 Monkeys” in 1996). But visually the concept is interesting. The film moves between modern London, especially some of the squalid dumps, and the fantasy world inside the traveling troupe of Doctor Parnassus (Christoper Plummer) and, the movie provides another example of “independent film’ (here distributed by Sony Pictures Classics in the US and Lionsgate in the UK) loaded with big stars, including Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell, Lily Cole (as daughter Valentia) and Tom Waits as the devil Mr. Nick.
The story has the concept of capturing souls and offering them Immortality, the chance to become gods, if they will make “the perfect sacrifice.” It could pose the question, why am I me and not someone in some other country, or under other circumstances (maybe karma). Maybe one could extend the idea to wonder if souls could be consolidated or contracted.
The imaginarium rather makes me think of the freak show at a county fair. I once visited one in Vernon, Texas, where the performer was very good at making visitors feel silly for wanting to see her.
The official site for the film is here.
Wikipedia attribution license for picture of Globe Theater in London http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Globe_theatre_london.jpg
Here is am AP video on Youtube about the funeral of Heath Ledger
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