Lost in La Mancha

Given that Fulton and Pepe had made a superior 'making of' documentary about his feature film12 Monkeys, it's not surprising that Terry Gilliam gave the pair unusually good access on the set of the 'Don Quixote' movie he'd been planning for a decade or so. The director on view in Lost in La Mancha may be ambitious, inventive and optimistic, but he's also pragmatic, open to discussion, and prepared to adapt to anything adversity can throw at him - which in this case was finally far too much. The relentless stream of sheer bad luck captured for posterity by Pepe's digital camera makes one wonder whether Quixote movies might be jinxed. Whatever, it also makes for compelling viewing, offering terrific insights into the commercial cinema's absolute dependence on money and how a massive enterprise can be brought down by the smallest problem. Thanks to the directors' narrative skills, events unfold with admirable clarity. One may not get a clear idea of how the film would have turned out, but there's certainly a poignancy to seeing these brief fragments of a shattered dream.