Lost In La Mancha

Lost In La Mancha may be the first un-making of documentary. In a genre that exists to hype films before their release, Lost in La Mancha presents an unexpected twist: it is the story of a film that does not exist. Following Terry Gilliam's attempt to bring Don Quixote to the big screen, Lost in La Mancha offers a unique, in-depth look at the harsher realities of filmmaking. With drama that ranges from personal conflicts to epic storms, this is a record of a film disintegrating. In the best tradition of documentary filmmaking, Lost in La Mancha captures all the drama of this story through fly-on-the-wall verite footage and on-the-spot interviews. Gilliam's plans for the non-existent film come alive in animations of his storyboards, narrated and voiced by co-writer Tony Grisoni and Gilliam himself. And with the camera tests of the leading actors and the rushes from the only six days of photography, Lost in La Mancha offers a tantalizing glimpse of the cinematic spectacle that might have been. Lost in La Mancha is less a process piece about filmmakers at work and more a powerful drama about the inherent fragility of the creative process -- a compelling study of how, even with an abundance of the best will and passion, the artistic endeavor can remain an impossible dream.