Head for the hills! AP exams are upon us!
Actually I'm not that worried. Pragmatically speaking, even if I fail them, I still can do well in my classes and get into UCLA. XD It's merely a matter of pride now.
But let's hope for the best. After all, at the end of the dark, forbidding tunnel of AP exams is the light of Prom, which I have finally prepared for. =D I'll talk about that in depth later.
Friday was a busy day. I was herded into my school's gym along with the rest of the seniors to partake in some senior nonsense, like taking a class picture, a "senior survey" (in which I gently mocked the reader with a condescending tone) , and listened to a guest speaker (very fun, despite what some of my peers may lead you to believe. I was surprised to learn he spoke at the Kiwins District Convention I attended a year ago. Failure on my part.). After that, I got ready to go work at Petco, having a nice lunch at Carrows' before I began my shift. Work was uneventful to say the least. 3 hours later, I was informed we could not leave the area because of business both my mother and brother had to attend to. Fortunately, my friend Jacobo was more than happy to let me stay at his place while my m/brother did their stuff. We had a good ol' time, browsing the web in search of enlightenment (Glenn Beck putting Woodrow Wilson and the progressive movement on level with Hitler and the Nazis, Landover Baptist Church's assertion that Obama is worse than Hitler.[It seems we're subconsciously drawn to Nazism.]) and crude entertainment (Two of the new South Park episodes, one of which involves the assasination of Kim Kardashian by a crazed reader who misinterprets Butters' second novel. When I saw it, I didn't know whether to laugh or recoil in horror, for Kim Kardashian is "the most beautiful woman in the world", according to Butters). When I finally got home, I watched Terry Gilliam's latest film, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.
Dr. Parnassus is a fantasy film in which the 1000-year old title character leads a medieval-theatre troupe in present-day London. Amongst their number are Anton, who is a "sleight of hand expert" according to Wikipedia, Percy, a midget and Parnassus's most trusted friend, and Valentina, the doctor's daughter who is going on 16. Three days before Valentina's 16th birthday, a snappy-dressed man named Mr. Nick appears to remind Dr. Parnassus that upon that day, he will have to surrender Valentina to him, as per a deal they made long ago. Naturally, Parnassus is distraught, already discouraged by the fact that a local drunkard stormed the troupe's mobile stage andentered the Imaginarium, a device of some sort that allows a person's fantasies to manifest themselves in a strange world. The most important feature of the Imaginarium is that at the end, the person must choose between enlightenment (symbolized by "Mt. Parnassus" in this instance) and damnation (symbolized by a pub run by Mr. Nick). The drunkard, despite swearing that he would never drink again just a few moments before, decides "just one more sip" and enters the pub. Then it explodes, leading Dr. Parny to say "He won. I lost." Apparently, Mr. Nick is the Devil, and he just collected another soul. Now he's coming to get Valentina's! Parnassus is brooding when the troupe passes over a bridge and find a man hanging from it above the river. Anton retrieves the man and revives him, possible only thanks to a golden pipe the man swallowed. However, he falls back into consciousness when he bangs his head against the troupe's cart/carriage. The next day, he awakens and demonstrates a loss of memory. Or so it seems... Both Anton and Percy are not too fond of him (a sentiment not shared by Valentina, who seems to be interested in him at least), but only after the stranger joins the troupe and Mr. Nick visits the doctor do things become fishy. He reveals the "amnesic" stranger is a former philanthropist named Tony, who ran into some kind of trouble. For some reason, Mr. Nick uses this to take the opportunity to offer another bet to Dr. Parnassus: If either Anton or Tony can win five souls in the Imaginarium before Mr. Nick does, then they can keep Valentina as their lover, instead of her being turned over to Mr. Nick. That is, if they can do it within two days, and before tensions between the troupe members' tear it apart.
Like the Gilliam films I have seen, Dr. Parnassus balances on a thin line between comedy and drama. There are moments that are funny, like the scene in which Percy is donned in blackface as part of Tony's plan to "modernize" the troupe and an incredulous woman is disgusted at this before stating "It should be in school" (irony, much?) , and there are moments that are sad to say the least, *HERE BE SPOILERS* such as the end, with one scene showing a defeated Dr. Parnassus wandering aimlessly through the Imaginarium before he falls on his knees, begs for "no more choices" and the scene shifts to to the real world, with Parnassus, now a vagrant kneeling in the same position behind a sign reading "please give generously". *END OF SPOILERS*. Most of the time it is both, especially the scenes with Mr. Nick, who is uniquely portrayed as more of an atheist/Nietzsche figure than the Prince of Darkness more commonly seen in popular culture.
I must confess, I wasn't as impressed by the soundtrack as I was with the movie itself. Composed by Jeff and Mychael Danna, it mainly featured ragtime music, which although managing to fit the whimsical tone of the movie, didn't really work for me. There is one anomaly in the soundtrack though: the number "We Love Violence" sung by a giant bust of a British policeman and policemen in drag to Russian mobsters chasing Tony in the Imaginarium, in the hope that they will channel their brutish behavior for the social good. It's long enough to make it's impact felt, and short enough not to detract from the movie.
I have not seen Christopher Plummer's classic films, like The Sound of Music, and I recognize Tom Waits only from his minor role in The Book of Eli, but I must say, I was thoroughly impressed by both, who played Dr. Parnassus and Mr. Nick respectively. Plummer added both a sage-like quality and sense of humor to the doctor, with his philosophical dialogue and wisdom contrasting with his playful nature (at least initially) towards Mr. Nick and occasional drunkenness. Waits managed to achieve to a similar goal, shown by Mr. Nick's cynical attempts to make Parnassus doubt his own philosophy as opposed to resorting to blatantly evil or cruel acts. The third most interesting character in my opinion was Tony, played by Heath Ledger in the character's first appearances, but filled in by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell following Ledger's death during production. The audience is never quite sure who Tony is and what he is up to, and his suave and sly attitude is conveyed well by all four actors.
Of course, Dr. Parnassus is a film that cannot be appreciated fully unless the viewer analyzes the film. I don't know much about Gilliam's religious or spiritual beliefs, but the film brings these issues to the forefront by making the viewer wonder if there really is a "universal story" or something greater beyond the cold, physical reality of the universe. In fact, the Imaginarium itself can be seen as a person's exploration of such matters, with their choice of enlightenment or damnation being seen as the point where they make a decision about where they stand on this issue. Obviously, it can be viewed as a symbol for going to Heaven or Hell, but I don't think stopping at such a simple interpretation would be in line with the spirit of Gilliam's thematic style. Of course, there is much more to discuss, but I don't believe this mere blog post is the place for such a discussion.
In short, I'd give The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus 10 stars out of 10. If you saw and enjoyed Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas or Brazil (both also by Gilliam), then you'll more than likely love Dr. Parnassus. I know it seems like I'm being too generous with the stars, but it wouldn't be fair if I gave the film 6 or even 8 just to purge myself of charges of "faint praise". After all, I'll get to movies I don't like later. =D
Like the Gilliam films I have seen, Dr. Parnassus balances on a thin line between comedy and drama. There are moments that are funny, like the scene in which Percy is donned in blackface as part of Tony's plan to "modernize" the troupe and an incredulous woman is disgusted at this before stating "It should be in school" (irony, much?) , and there are moments that are sad to say the least, *HERE BE SPOILERS* such as the end, with one scene showing a defeated Dr. Parnassus wandering aimlessly through the Imaginarium before he falls on his knees, begs for "no more choices" and the scene shifts to to the real world, with Parnassus, now a vagrant kneeling in the same position behind a sign reading "please give generously". *END OF SPOILERS*. Most of the time it is both, especially the scenes with Mr. Nick, who is uniquely portrayed as more of an atheist/Nietzsche figure than the Prince of Darkness more commonly seen in popular culture.
I must confess, I wasn't as impressed by the soundtrack as I was with the movie itself. Composed by Jeff and Mychael Danna, it mainly featured ragtime music, which although managing to fit the whimsical tone of the movie, didn't really work for me. There is one anomaly in the soundtrack though: the number "We Love Violence" sung by a giant bust of a British policeman and policemen in drag to Russian mobsters chasing Tony in the Imaginarium, in the hope that they will channel their brutish behavior for the social good. It's long enough to make it's impact felt, and short enough not to detract from the movie.
I have not seen Christopher Plummer's classic films, like The Sound of Music, and I recognize Tom Waits only from his minor role in The Book of Eli, but I must say, I was thoroughly impressed by both, who played Dr. Parnassus and Mr. Nick respectively. Plummer added both a sage-like quality and sense of humor to the doctor, with his philosophical dialogue and wisdom contrasting with his playful nature (at least initially) towards Mr. Nick and occasional drunkenness. Waits managed to achieve to a similar goal, shown by Mr. Nick's cynical attempts to make Parnassus doubt his own philosophy as opposed to resorting to blatantly evil or cruel acts. The third most interesting character in my opinion was Tony, played by Heath Ledger in the character's first appearances, but filled in by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell following Ledger's death during production. The audience is never quite sure who Tony is and what he is up to, and his suave and sly attitude is conveyed well by all four actors.
Of course, Dr. Parnassus is a film that cannot be appreciated fully unless the viewer analyzes the film. I don't know much about Gilliam's religious or spiritual beliefs, but the film brings these issues to the forefront by making the viewer wonder if there really is a "universal story" or something greater beyond the cold, physical reality of the universe. In fact, the Imaginarium itself can be seen as a person's exploration of such matters, with their choice of enlightenment or damnation being seen as the point where they make a decision about where they stand on this issue. Obviously, it can be viewed as a symbol for going to Heaven or Hell, but I don't think stopping at such a simple interpretation would be in line with the spirit of Gilliam's thematic style. Of course, there is much more to discuss, but I don't believe this mere blog post is the place for such a discussion.
In short, I'd give The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus 10 stars out of 10. If you saw and enjoyed Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas or Brazil (both also by Gilliam), then you'll more than likely love Dr. Parnassus. I know it seems like I'm being too generous with the stars, but it wouldn't be fair if I gave the film 6 or even 8 just to purge myself of charges of "faint praise". After all, I'll get to movies I don't like later. =D
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