Adam Driver (left) plays a pompous movie director and Jonathan Pryce plays a cobbler who thinks he’s Don Quixote in “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.” (quixotemovie.com)

Adam Driver (left) plays a pompous movie director and Jonathan Pryce plays a cobbler who thinks he’s Don Quixote in “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.” (quixotemovie.com)

Long-delayed ‘Don Quixote’ collapses after funny first hour

Still, we should be glad that Terry Gilliam’s shambolic picture finally made it past the gatekeepers.

In trying to get his dream project finished, Terry Gilliam has been tilting at windmills for 25 years now.

The “Monty Python” member first tried to shoot “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” around the turn of the century, with Johnny Depp starring, an effort dogged by catastrophe (as chronicled in the fascinating documentary “Lost in La Mancha”). Over the years, Gilliam kept re-casting the film and raising funds.

When the project finally got made, there was a last-minute threat to pull the movie just as it was set to debut at last year’s Cannes Film Festival — more drama about money. It hardly seems real that this thing actually exists.

But here it is, and Gilliam’s vision heroically survives, even if (characteristically, for this madman filmmaker) it all eventually collapses in a chaotic heap.

Our central figure is a pompous movie director, Toby (Adam Driver), currently in Spain to shoot a slick commercial. He realizes he’s near a town where, a decade earlier, he’d shot a “Don Quixote” movie — back in the days when he actually cared about his art.

Taking off alone to revisit his old shooting locations, Toby runs into the humble cobbler (Jonathan Pryce) he’d cast as Don Quixote. Turns out the man has spent the past decade convinced he actually is the hero of the great Cervantes novel, the noble knight who defends the honor of women and fights giants roaming the countryside.

The two men go off on a jaunt, leading to misadventures and slapstick pratfalls. For at least the first hour it’s wild fun, fueled by Gilliam’s exuberance and a terrifically funny performance by Adam Driver.

Gilliam generally gets into trouble when required to tie his stories together, and this one really begins to fall apart toward the end.

For Gilliam, the era of relatively coherent movies like “Brazil” and “The Fisher King” seems very distant; these days he’s a circus ringmaster, parading the carnival acts back and forth while not really worrying whether you lose the plot. If there is a plot.

Pryce, who starred in “Brazil,” totally commits to playing Quixote, remaining inside his own dreamworld throughout. He and Driver obviously “get” Gilliam, in a way some of the other actors — Stellan Skarsgard and Olga Kurylenko among them — do not.

So: Let’s face it, the movie is a mess. I found it an often exhilarating mess, even though Gilliam’s style — still rooted in the 1960s and those zany animations he made for “Monty Python” — looks more heavy-handed than ever. At least it’s the work of a free man, not beholden to the corporate bottom line or fitting into a pre-existing universe. For this we can be grateful.

“The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” (2½ stars)

Terry Gilliam’s long-plagued dream project is about a movie director (Adam Driver in a terrific comic performance) who reunites with the Spanish cobbler (Jonathan Pryce) he’d once cast in a film about Don Quixote; now the guy thinks he really is the noble knight. Very funny in its opening hour, the movie falls apart pretty badly by the end — still, Gilliam’s circus visions are original, even when he wears you out.

Rating: Not rated; probably R for subject matter

Opening Friday: Grand Illusion Cinema, Seattle

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Everett P. Fog, 15, in front of an Everett mural along Colby Avenue on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Hello, Everett! No escape when your name is same as the town

Everett P. Fog, 15, sees and hears his first name wherever he goes. His middle name is also epic.

2025 Nissan Rogue Rock Creek edition (Provided by Nissan).
2025 Nissan Rogue has new Rock Creek edition

Enhanced outdoor capability is a boon for the more adventurous.

Futuristic Kona Limited Photo Provided By Hyundai Newsroom.
2025 Hyundai Kona Limited SUV Gets Roomier

All-Wheel Drive Option Add To All Trims

Children play and look up at a large whale figure hanging from the ceiling at the Imagine Children’s Museum (Olivia Vanni / The herald)
Fun for all ages: The best places for family adventures

From thrilling activities to relaxing outings, here’s where to make unforgettable family memories!

Jared Meads takes a breath after dunking in an ice bath in his back yard while his son Fallen, 5, reads off the water temperature on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Chill out: Dive into the cold plunge craze

Plungers say they get mental clarity and relief for ails in icy water in tubs, troughs and clubs.

Schack exhibit to highlight Camano Island watercolorists

“Four Decades of Friendship: John Ebner & John Ringen” will be on display Jan. 16 through Feb. 9.

XRT Trim Adds Rugged Features Designed For Light Off-Roading
Hyundai Introduces Smarter, More Capable Tucson Compact SUV For 2025

Innovative New Convenience And Safety Features Add Value

Sequoia photo provided by Toyota USA Newsroom
If Big Is Better, 2024 Toyota Sequoia Is Best

4WD Pro Hybrid With 3-Rows Elevates Full-Size

2025 Toyota Land Cruiser (Provided by Toyota).
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser revives its roots

After a 3-year hiatus, the go-anywhere SUV returns with a more adventurous vibe.

Enjoy the wilderness in the CX-50. Photo provided by Mazda USA Newsroom
2025 Mazda CX-50 Adds Hybrid Capability to Turbo Options

Line-Up Receives More Robust List Of Standard Equipment

Practical And Functional bZ4X basks in sunshine. Photo provided by Toyota Newsroom.
2024 bZ4X Puts Toyota Twist On All-Electric SUV’s

Modern Styling, Tech & All-Wheel Drive Highlight

Photo provided by Mazda USA Newsroom
2025 Mazda3 Turbo Premium Plus Hatch Delivers Value

Plus Functionality of AWD And G-Vectoring

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.