MovieChat Forums > The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2010) Discussion > Why do people like this movie?

Why do people like this movie?

posted 12 years ago by lisibet
23 replies | jump to latest

Let me just say up front, before people star insulting me, and saying that I am a shallow minded boor: I am a lover of quirky films that are imaginative and make me think. I love movies like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", "Time Bandits", "Black Swan", "The Fisher King", "Jules and Jim", "A Clockwork Orange", "Harold and Maude" etc etc.

But I did not care for this movie...at all. Yes, the visuals were impressive. But the story was almost impossible to follow. It was a mess. It seemed to lack a-lot of exposition. And the dialogue was unintelligible at certain points.
I found myself not caring about the characters...they were unappealing to me. I got the impression that the story and characters were secondary to the visuals.

It was nothing but visuals and pseudo symbolism. I was sooo very glad when it was finally over.

I think that many people desperately wanted to love this movie...maybe because it was Heath Ledger's last, or because it was a Terry Gilliam movie, and he is usually brilliant But I really don't think this movie is deserving of any adoration.

Why do people like this movie? It was such a disappointment.

[–] sth128 12 years ago

Why do people like this movie? Because your tastes and feelings are not the metric with which the world measures movies.

You see, OTHER people have DIFFERENT opinions because they are NOT YOU.

[–] lisibet 12 years ago

I'm asking for other people's opinions, you schmuck!

[–] d.lodewijks 12 years ago

No, you are trying to tell people what you think is wrong with this movie. Your question sounds quite rhetorical. If you really wanted opinions, it's better to ask for them, without first shooting the film down. What you will get now is answers to your points. Defenses. Those will not be the real reasons why people like this movie. People have their own reasons, and no perceived lack of disposition is going to keep people from liking it for their own reasons.

I don't think anyone who likes it will want to convince you to like it as well. It is what it is.

[–] bootblack987 12 years ago

sth128...thanks for informing us that not all seven billion people on the planet are facsimiles of one another. How would we have known unless you had enlightened us.

/sarcasm

Okay, back on topic. I'm also interested in hearing how people liked this movie as I did not. That said, here's what I did like about it:

1. Very original story
2. Beautiful, gorgeous fantasy scenes
3. Decent to good acting from everyone cast (although if Tom Waits hadn't been hired, I would have been fine with pretty much anyone else in that role)

But I just found it weird (for the sake of being weird), pointless and seemingly a Christianity proganda product. :-(

[–] franzkabuki 12 years ago

Mind clearing up what the hell is "pseudo symbolism" supposed to mean? Also, instead of bragging about your quirky taste and fondness of thinking, maybe you just should have put more effort into your critique here... and paid more attention to the film when watching. And yes, Parnassus indeed lacks "a-lot of exposition" as you put it - Gilliam´s films usually do. Luckily, he´s not your Christopher Nolan who will spend a good third of a movie on having characters literally explain what is happening.

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

[–] TheWIDOWMAKER97 12 years ago

I don't think many people like or know this movie exsists so don't worry about it.

[–] El_Durango 12 years ago

You have to be British to appreciate this movie.

[–] PhoenixPhuck 12 years ago

I like the movie for alot of reasons but one being that I truly didn't know where it was going or how it would end...I found the premise interesting...and it was totally unique. I can't say it's a homerun or anything...but I left the theater very satisfied.

Even the most primitive society has an innate respect for the insane.

[–] unknown_soul278 11 years ago

I find that offensive. Are you saying others aren't intelligent enough to appreciate this? Not cultured enough? Or just not capable of understanding other cultures and ideas? Regardless of how you spin it, it is offensive. I enjoyed and appreciated this movie and I am not British.

[–] jamie147 10 years ago

In fairness, I don't think that El_Durango intended to say that it is anything about intelligence as to why he believes that you have to be British to enjoy this, but rather a comment on the general British mindset and sense of humour.

However, I disagree with that! I am British and I found this to be one of the most hideously dull, boring, nonsensical, annoying, weird pieces of rubbish that I have ever suffered in my life.

At one point I even believed my cinema to be a time machine. I looked at my watch after what felt like two hours, only to find that only ten minutes had elapsed!

This is just my opinion of course - no offense intended to the great many fans of this movie! Each to their own and all that!

[–] the_only_warrior 12 years ago

I am not a Gilliam fan - except for 12 Monkeys, which is ironically up there as one of my favourites. I am a Monty Python fan though and I loved his work with them.

I liked this movie's plot - the Faust-like story is old-fashioned, but it's in tune with the idea of bringing this travelling show from the 19th century into the 2000's.

The characters were interesting and all had their mysteries and I was curious enough to want them unravelled.

The visuals were stunning in a unique Terry Gilliam way - reminded me very much of his work with Monty Python. As did much of the film's absurdity, which I loved as well.

The only points that buggered this movie up were the emotional climaxes - without writing spoilers (let's say involving the father and the daughter as one example and Tony and Roger as the other example), they were rushed, unrealistically written (literally a huge moment coming in one line of dialogue) and came across as fake. I thought the ending was very good - although perhaps a little too neat.

[–] terjeruy 12 years ago

this movie is one of the worst I have ever seen. And that tells alot

[–] franzkabuki 12 years ago

"And that tells a lot".

About you, if anything.

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

[–] kerrydragon 12 years ago

I didn't care for the movie,either,I didn't understand it,and it went on too long..Its obvious that many didn't like this movie,when it had a budget of 30 million,and only raked in 7.5 million,back.

[–] PhoenixPhuck 12 years ago

It made over 60 million worldwide...so it doubled its budget...it's not really a movie for the masses anyways

Even the most primitive society has an innate respect for the insane.

[–] TotheWatersandtheWild 12 years ago

I didn't choose or want desperately to love this movie. It just came natural (just like you can't choose who you fall in love with). It's just personal. I don't really think it has much of anything to do with intelligence, even imagination or creativity so much as a pure visceral reaction to it. It just struck a nerve with me and it's hard to know why unless you know someone, maybe... just individual quirks and preferences.

I'm a seeker too. But my dreams aren't like yours...

[–] octoberholidaynightmare 11 years ago

Personally, I just think it's a lot of fun as a film. The imagery is impossibly beautiful, the story is imaginative, and the performances are well done and pretty natural over all.

That, and Johnny Depp's bit is great, as well as Farrell's and Law's. They came in and had a GREAT time, despite the unfortunate state of things.

ALSO! Any movie that allows me to enjoy THIS MUCH of the magic of Tom Waits? Unconditional love.

It's not a flawless film, and for very understandable reasons. It sort of had to become something it wasn't supposed to. That said, they couldn't just let it all disappear. I'm glad they made of it what they did.

Now I'mma watch it. Have a good one!

"It's SHOWTIME!" ~ Beetlejuice