Movies

'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote' Clips Exist, Defying The Odds Of God And Man

Man Who Killed Don Quixote clips
By Ben Pearson

Considering its disastrous production history, cinephiles have adopted an "I'll believe it when I see it" attitude when it comes to Terry Gilliam's highly troubled The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. But after decades of starts and stops, the day has come where we can believe without a doubt that the movie finally exists. Three actual, honest to God clips from this movie have hit the internet, and you can watch them ahead of the film's long-awaited premiere during the closing night of this year's Cannes Film Festival.

This is a red alert, folks: Gilliam (Brazil, Time Bandits) has done the unthinkable and finally finished what many have come to think of as a cursed project. These The Man Who Killed Don Quixote clips aren't just movie clips. They're a testament to the power of hard-nosed determination, a physical representation of the work of a director who has endured Greek mythology levels of tragedy in his attempt to tell this story. Despite every obstacle the gods threw at him, he emerged on the the other side triumphant. It's inspirational...and also a little nuts.

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote Clips

BirthMoviesDeath points us to three new clips from the film, the first of which shows Adam Driver's character Toby, a director, riding across the plains with an old man named Javier (Jonathan Pryce) who believes himself to be the actual Don Quixote. After suggesting they explain themselves to the authorities, Toby recounts how the two initially met – Javier was an actor and Toby was making a movie. Pryce previously worked with Gilliam on Brazil, but this is the first time Driver has collaborated with the director, and it seems like he's a perfect fit for this cinematic world.

The second clip appears to be a flashback to when Toby and Javier first met. (I say "appears to be" because we're technically not 100% sure what the plot of this film is in this current iteration, because it's changed so much as it lurched toward completion over the years.) This seems to be in the early stages of Javier's transformation into the Quixote persona, when the lines of fantasy and reality are starting to blur for him (a common theme in Gilliam's body of work).

And finally, there's a look at the two characters in a riding party that enters an ancient-looking castle. It's unclear when this is supposed to take place, but did you notice the two men in modern suits and sunglasses riding on the same horse at the front of the line? That might be a clue. Is this whole show in Javier/Quixote's head? Or is this elaborate scene actually happening and everyone involved is in on it, either to humor him or maybe to get something out of him that they need?

Meanwhile, in the wake of reports about Gilliam's recent hospitalization, one of the film's producers has clarified that Gilliam didn't have a stroke, but was hospitalized for an unspecified illness and stress instead. The filmmaker seems to be doing well, posting a recent photo of himself on Twitter wearing a shirt that says, "I'm not dead yet."

No word yet about when the rest of the world will get to finally see The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (Amazon just bailed as the film's domestic distributor), but we'll let you know when we find out.

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