Terry Gilliam, the former Monty Pythoner, has been obsessed with adapting Miguel Cervantes's classic Spanish novel Don Quixote for the screen for more than 20 years. The colorful and idiosyncratic English director (The Fisher King, Twelve Monkeys) has a special place in his heart for the ardent idealist who tilts against windmills and dares to dream the impossible dream.
Documentarians Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe arrive in Spain in August 2000 to capture the excitement of Gilliam at work on a project that stirs his soul. There is a $32 million budget in place from Europe, and the cast and crew are coming from around the world. Lenser Nicola Pecorini states with an undertone of dismay that Gilliam is trying to make a Hollywood movie on a budget that can't handle that extravagance. While the director works desperately on a scene involving three giants, things are falling apart elsewhere. French actor Jean Rochefort, who is to play Don Quixote, is felled in Paris with a prostrate infection. Johnny Depp arrives ready to work on his role as a time-tripping ad-executive named Sancho Panza. As the crew moves to film in the desert, shooting is interrupted by NATO planes flying overhead. Then there is a terrible storm that creates flash floods, destroying equipment and bringing chaos to the production. Gilliam, who is at the end of his rope, asks in consternation: "Is this King Lear or The Wizard of Oz?"
Lost in La Mancha reveals the incredible complications, the clash of egos, and the ways in which small problems can turn into large catastrophes on a film set. Gilliam is mindful of the difficulties Orson Welles had in his abortive attempt to make a movie out of Don Quixote. In the end, financial problems bring an end to Gilliam's impossible dream. But like his ever hopeful protagonist, he is convinced that things will eventually turn around, and he'll be given another chance to film the timeless story.
The DVD edition contains interviews with star Johnny Depp, director Terry Gilliam, documentarians Keith Fulton and Luis Pepe, and producer Lucy Darwin. It also includes a "Making of . . . " featurette, plus another that chronicles the showing and reception of Lost in La Mancha at the Toronto Film Festival.
