So what’s the greater point in Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus? There does seem to be one lurking indecipherably within the subtext. Gilliam, a member of the Monty Python alumni and director of films including The Brothers Grimm, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Twelve Monkeys, is known for his obscure imagination and complicated plot constructions. The Imaginarium delivers some poignant propositions but appears to lack a binding thread – unless one falls back on the grandiose ‘it’s an exploration of human nature’ theme, which is sufficiently vague to suit the film’s irrational tone and is yet supported by the evidence of an occasionally coherent observation or statement that manages to force its head through the Gilliam’s veil of insanity. (more…)