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Rating: I didn't know this film, but when I read Terry Gilliam's name and Jeff Bridges' name on the cover, I didn't think twice about spending the 5 euros needed to take the DVD home. An eclectic and almost chaotic film in its progression full of twists and rich in changes of rhythm and genre (comedy, drama, romance, fantasy). But let's start in order... I love Terry Gilliam. How much he made me laugh my head off in the legendary Monty Python (and particularly in The Meaning Of Life, directed by him)!!! Among his most famous films, I also greatly appreciated the magnificent Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.
The Fisher King is based on T.S. Eliot's book "The Waste Land." The plot sees the inadvertent intertwining of two lives: that of the current New York disk jockey, Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges), with that of former university professor Parry (Robin Williams). The scholar's wife is murdered by a madman who misinterprets Jack's ironic and cold radio advice given live.
The DJ cannot fathom the event and falls into a deep crisis. We find him 3 years later in a mediocre life, dragging out a dull and sad love story.
The shock reaction to seeing his beloved wife brutally killed, without reason, initially leads Parry to a vegetative state and later to madness. He lives like a vagrant in his own world, made of castles, knights, an obsessive quest for the Holy Grail, and escape from the past (represented by a "fiery" knight).
After one of his usual drunken nights followed by random wandering, Jack finds himself in a NY slum and is saved from an attack by two thugs thanks to the brave intervention of the "Parry" knight. Parry is convinced that Jack is the chosen one: the one who will help him find the Holy Grail.
From this point, the film changes pace and rhythm. The director indulges in a ping pong match between Parry’s madness and Jack's tumultuous life. When the former DJ discovers the cause of his "knight" friend's mental state, he decides to help him declare his love for a very shy and clumsy clerk whom Parry had been following like a shadow for ages. Gilliam lets pure and gentle romance rain down during the first date, culminating in a tender declaration followed by a moment of high drama.
I'll stop here in discussing the plot so as not to spoil the end of a great film, different from the usual, focused on friendship, the ability to enjoy simple things, and finding oneself after moments of pure despair. Excellently acted by the cast, this piece earned the Silver Lion at the 1992 Venice Film Festival: I would recommend it to the Debaser community.
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