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	<title>Screen Machine &#187; The moralising of &#8220;The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus&#8221;</title>
	<link>http://www.screenmachine.tv</link>
	<description>Film criticism and cultural commentary based out of Melbourne, Australia.</description>
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		<title>The moralising of &#8220;The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus&#8221;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is the latest film from Terry Gilliam since Tideland. It&#8217;s about a travelling performing troupe that invites people to enter into a magic mirror and explore their imaginations. We learn that the reason they do this is part of a bet that the troupe’s leader, Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) made with the Devil (Tom Waits). Parnassus is to collect a certain number of souls, failing which, he must give up his daughter (Lily Cole). This film is also notable for being the last film to star Heath Ledger who plays a slick businessman whom we first meet dangling by his neck from a bridge. His entrepreneurial knack provides a boost for the troupe when the Devil visits to collect his dues.

Heath Ledger died in the middle of production on Parnassus which, besides being a tragedy in its own right, threw a spanner in the works for the film. Gilliam’s solution is to have several different actors playing Ledger’s character, including Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell. The explanation given in the film is that Heath’s face changes after passing through the mirror to serve the fantasy of whoever passes through the mirror with him. Despite being an obvious patch up to save the production, this actually adds an interesting dimension to the film.

The big draw card of this film is the spectacular visuals. Terry Gilliam has a natural tendency towards anarchy in his mise-en-scene. And like in Twelve Monkeys, he creates a great juxtaposition&#8230;]]></description>
		<link>http://www.screenmachine.tv/2009/11/24/the-moralising-of-doctor-parnassus/</link>
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