and
On my oft-neglected film blog, I once remarked that former Monty Python member Terry Gilliam was perhaps my favorite director, aside from the Coen Brothers. While I try to avoid things like ‘favorites’ as often as I can, I based it on the fact that I have seen a good portion of his filmography and have not yet seen a movie of his that I didn’t think was at least enjoyable. Brazil was excellent, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas was good, 12 Monkeys, The Fisher King, all fine films. The Brothers Grimm might have been a bit of a misstep (I’ve only seen parts of it), and I think Jabberwocky works largely because of Michael Palin, but all in all I enjoy his style immensely. A lot of directors attempt to be ‘quirky’ or ‘weird’, but I think Gilliam is one of the few who has the ability to translate that effectively into his films. So, knowing that Gilliam’s work tends towards the fantastical and the darkly comic, I decided to try out one for the marathon.
If you’ll recall way back on the Monster Squad entry that I referred to it as a ‘kids adventure’ movie, which deals with a ragtag group of kids going on some kind of extraordinary adventure. Time Bandits is also a ‘kids adventure’ film, but in this case there is only one kid (much like 90’s film classic The Pagemaster, starring Macaulay Culkin). As the story goes, Kevin is an inquisitive yet oft-ignored boy who lives with his stern father and appliance-obsessed mother somewhere in Britain. One night, after failing to convince his parents that a knight had lept through his closet the time before, he is abducted by a ragtag group of dwarves from the very same closet and forced to travel through a strange portal through his bedroom wall to escape a giant glowing face. As it turns out, the group of dwarves are disgruntled employees of The Supreme Being (the giant glowing face), and have stolen a map that outlines all the gaps in the universe, through which one can travel about anywhere in space and time. The dwarves, like most people in their position, have decided to use the map to become stinking, filthy rich, by thieving from all throughout time, and now Kevin is along for the ride. With only their wits and the map at their disposal, the time bandits must contend not only with The Supreme Being and the numerous historical figures that make up their hit list, but also the secret machinations of The Evil One (David Warner), who desires the map for what I’m sure are completely gregarious reasons.
The main issue with all kids adventure movies, and indeed is the problem with Time Bandits, is that when the kids) aren’t likable then it doesn’t work. For a movie that’s ostensibly about Kevin he barely seems in the damn thing, and in the times he is in there he’s annoying as all hell. Perhaps Kevin’s background nature is meant to be in reference to the fact that we often feel like observers in our dreams, as this world of magic, time-traveling dwarves and chaos certainly has a dreamlike quality. Honestly though, this movie would probably be just fine if Kevin wasn’t in it at all. It’s a great adventure, with memorable characters and decidedly macabre sense of humor for a family movie. It’s a fantasy film with just the right mood for Halloween, so why not check it out?
No comments:
Post a Comment