An ideal film for movie buffs, who are bound to delight in each new misfortune even as they sympathize with the documentarians' sometimes inflated vision of a tortured genius at work.
At once bitterly funny and devastating, Lost In La Mancha sides with Gilliam in form and spirit, piecing together the train wreck with snaky humor and interludes that cleverly mimic his Monty Python collage animations.
80
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Washington PostStephen Hunter
The documentary is fascinating, but hardly enjoyable. It's like watching ants eat an elephant.
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Like rubbernecking motorists, we can't help but watch with lurid fascination.
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Lost in La Mancha basically catches "Don Quixote" in free fall…It's our loss nonetheless. Gilliam is one of the great film fantasists of our age, and one expects he would have done Cervantes proud.
75
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Captures one of the wildest, most heartbreaking episodes in Gilliam's career.
The film should be required viewing for all aspiring filmmakers, but the story's road-accident appeal is universal.
20
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
So this is not, as vaunted, a documentary about a film destroyed by temperaments and tizzies. It is the account of a medical catastrophe that could have spoiled the opening of a supermarket.