To me, this movie is perfection.

i must have seen a different film!!

As Good As It Gets

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus will undoubtedly receive press because of the tragic circumstances- lead actor Heath Ledger died before the film could be completed and other stars finally ended up taking his role to complete it. The film itself is alright but it depends on the audience's sensibilities and preferences. It is definitely a delight to look at, but Terry Gilliam's films have always polarized the audiences. Johnny Depp, Colin Farell and Jude Law fill in for Ledger but ultimately this is a Gilliam show.

Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) is the Obie One Kenobi character. Anton (Andrew Garfield) matches up with Luke Skywalker with Valentina (Lily Cole) fitting in as Princess Leia. Tony (Heath Ledger) takes on the Hans Solo role with the Devil sitting in for Darth Vader and Percy (Vern Troyer) becomes R2D2. Chewbacca and C-3PO sat this one out. The imaginary sets were Monty Python's Terry Gilliam's imagination and Montreal filled in for Europe.

If you know nothing about the backstory of this film, you'll be in a much better position to enjoy watching it. It's a very strange fantasy whose setting is a cross between a magician's show and a travelling theater group. The ringleader, Christopher Plummer, has made a deal with the devil before the start of the film: he'll live forever but when his daughter Lily Cole turns sixteen, the devil will claim her. After they find Heath Ledger and adopt him into their troupe, their show becomes more strange and fantastical.The film is split into four sections, and once again, if you don't know the backstory behind these splits, it's actually an interesting take on the story. Heath Ledger's character is introduced, and each time he performs the magic show, he's transformed into a different actor to show that the show alters him. The other actors are played by Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law, and they're all very believable as changed versions of Heath.The visual aspects are quite impressive, if you like movies like this. As a child, if you loved the odd world of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and you usually like magician films, you'll probably really love The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Parts of it are quite good, but all in all, it was a little too weird for me. Plus, I knew what happened during the making of this film. Once you know what happened, it's pretty impossible to like it.

"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" tells the story about a theatrical carnival wagon passing through the city of London luring the curious and the obdurate to be a part of their world. Christopher Plummer is the titular character as dispirited, whiskered old sage claiming to be a thousand years old. He has young daughter named Valentina (Lily Cole) who's a young sprite at 16 and like a flower she's blossoming out. He is also joined by a young assistant named Anton (Andrew Garfield) who happens to be smitten by his daughter. Joining the traveling theatre is the feisty, diminutive multi- talented Percy (Verne Troyer). Hidden esoterically in the wagon is a colourful world filled with vibrant landscapes and for each guest, a nasty moral decision.Like you would expect from all Terry Gilliam films, the imagery is magical, the pacing is enthralling and the outcome is entertaining. And granted this movie is a convoluted mess, but a mess with a meaning encrypted behind the fantasy images, which might disturb some, but not me. If anyone who can give send-offs better it has be Gilliam. Though ironic at the time the deceased character depicted here dies as a way to metaphorically say goodbye to one of Hollywood's great that left us too young and too soon. Haunting image of sheer irony hangs on as we see the late Heath Ledger dead from choking on a noose located at the Thames Bridge. If that won't get a lump into your throats I don't know what will. His character Tony may look dead, but that might be an illusion, he may have had a generous side to him, but even that might even be superficial. We do know that he's been brain-washed. Ledger plays his role with charm and inventiveness and looked like a man who's heart was clearly not leaving this Earth too soon. I'm sure if was here with us today Ledger would look back and laugh all the theme- park ironies this movie makes up. But whether you liked or hated him, no one can deny that Mr. Ledger had a sly sense of humour and was never afraid to take risks. When Tony decides to be a part of Parnassus' theatrical gang, things start to heat up a bit which has been dormant for the last few centuries. When the Devil himself who know goes by the name Mr. Nick (Tom Waits, the only man who's played both God and the Devil in cinematic history "Wristcutters: A Love Story" from 2006), arrives on the scenes chaos is not too far behind. Let's just say that the good Doctor has made a deal with the Devil in that whoever can conjure five human souls to the the side of the Imaginarium will get the soul of the Doctor's pride and joy, Valentina. Tony seems to have the talent for gathering people into his dimension, and this is where Gilliam's magic stats to run amok. Though the atmosphere looks high-budgeted, but that's a misnomer. Even though Gilliam's surreal visuals are overwhelming, they do kind of remind you of the animation that was used prominently during the Monty Python days. When it came time for the Imaginarium sequences to start filming, Ledger sadly passed away and it left Gilliam to contemplate on some revisions to the script. Every time Tony steps the Doctor's Imaginarium, he changes through each appearance. An early scenario indicates that through every passage, Tony becomes a physically different person and the three Tonys played by Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law showed their enthusiasm for playing such a role very poignantly. If Gilliam had his way he would have turned this awesome trio into pallbearers, but through each sequence they respectfully picked up what Ledger left off. If that's not a proper burial, I don't know what is. Although Ledger left us, but the film lives on and it kind of reminds me of the more recent films that Gilliam has been making; clunky, half-baked ideas, and over-saturated with visual eye-candy to give your pupils diabetes. I will say this though at least Verne Troyer is not utilized as an Austin Powers prop and here he's actually showcasing great acting to actually be taken seriously (no Mini Me here). The intention of this movie is that Gilliam is trying to prove that even in our modern life where reality is top priority, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" proves that we can still embody imagination like our ancestors did more frequently in the past. Gilliam truly directed this film with heart and rightfully so. This movie truly states that it's all right to shut down our reality and let our imaginations take over even if it's just for two hours. (In memory of Heath Ledger (1979-2008)