Well, what a film! Like most of Terry Gilliam’s other films, for example Time Bandits, Imaginarium takes place in a world that is something like the real world, but a real world in which, just around the corner somewhere, there is a doorway to an entirely different reality. In this case, the doorway is a large mirror-frame with a couple of sheets of reflective plastic giving the appearance of a mirror, except it is possible to plunge through, pushing between the two sheets, and enter the world of the plunger’s imagination… I’m going to refer to this device as a mirror from now on, to keep it short!

Well, the world entered is not exactly the world of the plunger’s imagination: it is mediated by Doctor Parnassus, an ancient monk now living the life of a fairground attraction. Customers are invited to take the plunge and see what they find. As he describes it, he is a facilitator, allowing people to see dreamlike imaginary worlds. The worlds they see are not entirely free-form. Instead, what they see is based upon their fantasies: greedy people see get-rich-quick schemes, romantic people see flowery worlds, and so on. But it is not so simple. They also are presented with choices, and the what they choose determines whether they (or their souls) become the Devil’s property or are freed. When they choose the lazy, the easiest options, they are doomed. For really bad people it appears to be possible to be doomed anyway, in fact, as the character Tony is smart enough to choose the harder way but still doesn’t get away with things. But then, perhaps he didn’t actually choose the harder way, as he was being chased by a mob at the time…

So the film is a metaphor for the way we live our lives. As it is in the Imaginarium, where most plungers (as I’m going to call them) didn’t really understand the choices they were making and the consequences that would flow from those choices, so it is in real life too, where most of us fail to notice how much of what happens in our lives flows from the largely unconscious choices we have previously made: the easy, the lazy, the simple choices, tend to lead to a downward spiral of more and more hassle. Just one more doughnut won’t hurt… And, as in real life too, most people are really not interested in taking the plunge and possibly improving their lives. Most people are more interested in getting drunk down at the pub, or shopping, or money, or basically anything other than improving themselves. The difficulty Doctor Parnassus has in finding souls to save mirrors the blind way most of humanity seems to live.

Well, I haven’t said much about the story-line of the film, and perhaps I don’t really need to. It is a fairy-tale of sorts, with Doctor Parnassus and the Devil being the main protagonists. They both seem to me to represent forces of Nature rather than being actual humans. The Devil in particular, a quirky fellow with a New York accent, a black suit, bowler hat, and a liking for cigarillos, does not choose the most evil path all the time. Instead, he plays very strictly by the rules, only accepting souls that have freely chosen their doom. He reflects very nicely the ultimate neutrality of the Universe: we choose, we get the consequences. There is no favouritism. In real life there can be luck, perhaps. Doctor Parnassus doesn’t believe in coincidence though, so perhaps in the fantasy world, luck doesn’t count: the world reflects the plunger’s nature 100%. In real life, perhaps, the ratio is more like 80:20 – it is possible to be dealt a very bad hand of cards, after all, and some people seem to have all the luck. But mostly, real life is more of a mixture. Even so, our choices do make a difference some of the time, and I suppose the film is emphasising it. I don’t think I need to say much about the acting either: I have no complaints.
So, do I like this film? Of course I do. If you hate thoughtful, quirky, metaphorical, fantastical and fun films, give this one a miss. Me, I give it 9 out of 10.