The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" is a fantastical morality tale, set in the present-day. It tells the story of Dr. Parnassus and his extraordinary 'Imaginarium', a traveling show where members of the audience get an more »irresistible opportunity to choose between light and joy or darkness and gloom. Blessed with the extraordinary gift of guiding the imaginations of others, Doctor Parnassus is cursed with a dark secret. An inveterate gambler, thousands of years ago he made a bet with the devil, Mr. Nick, in which he won immortality. Centuries later, on meeting his one true love, Dr. Parnassus made another deal with the devil, trading his immortality for youth, on condition that when his daughter reached her 16th birthday, she would become the property of Mr Nick. Valentina is now rapidly approaching this 'coming of age' milestone and Dr. Parnassus is desperate to protect her from her impending fate. Mr. Nick arrives to collect but, always keen to make a bet, renegotiates the wager. Now the winner of Valentina will be determined by whoever seduces the first five souls. Enlisting a series of wild, comical and compelling characters in his journey, Dr. Parnassus promises his daughter's hand in marriage to the man that helps him win.

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From the opening scene I thought it might be a bit to far out there but the story was actually very easy to follow and made sense. The visuals were stunning and the acting was good. It's your typical Gilliam movie, off the wall, not main stream. If you like Brazil or Time Bandits or The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Then you'll probably like this film. To me it was at bit bizarre at times, but I did enjoyed it, so did my Dad who I saw it with. Would I see it again?? Maybe once but I don't think I'll be adding it to my DVD library.