I well remember my middle-school Mondays excitedly discussing the previous night's episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. It was considered too risquè for regular networks, so it showed on the local PBS station. And it was that risquè content that drew flocks of junior high boys like moths to a smoldering flame. Amid the non sequiturs and nonsense were the animations of Terry Gilliam. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes disturbing, and occasionally both at the same time, Gilliam's cartoons provided a fitting buffer between the skits. He was the lone American in a cast of Brits, but his commitment to absurdist comedy proved a seamless fit.

With the end of Circus, the members of the Pythons pulled up their stakes and moved on in different directions. John Cleese moved to Fawlty Towers, Michael Palin chronicled his worldwide travels, Terry Jones devoted himself to documentaries, Eric Idle staged Spamalot, and Graham Chapman moved to a different plane of existence. Terry Gilliam began directing films. Among his films are Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), the vastly underrated The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), The Fisher King (1991), and 12 Monkeys (1995). Given Gilliam's pedigree of curiosity and creativity, I was anxious to see The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

The death of Heath Ledger during the filming of Parnassus gave the movie a jolt of unfortunate attention. Coming off his brilliant portrayal of "The Joker" in The Dark Knight (2008), Ledger died of an unintentional overdose while Imaginarium was still in production. This type of tragedy can doom a movie. But, owing to the creativity of Gilliam and the graciousness of Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell, the movie was completed. (Not only did Depp, Law, and Farrell step in to insure that the film was completed, they also graciously directed that any proceeds they would receive from the film should be given to Ledger's daughter, Matilda Rose.)

The story itself revolves around a company of traveling actors led by Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer). Members of this troupe include a barker (Heath Ledger), street magician Anton (Andrew Garfield), a dwarf Percy (Verne Troyer AKA "Mini-Me"), and Parnassus' daughter Valentina (Lily Cole). Tom Waits appears as "Mr. Nick," a very intentional representation of the Devil. The story itself is somewhat strange. This mystery is vaguely foreshadowed in the title as Mount Parnassus, in Greek mythology, was home to the Muses and sacred to Apollo. The plot is further complicated by the challenge of having three different actors complete the role begun by a now-deceased star. But, as in all of Gilliam's films, the visuals which tell the story are as important, if not more important, than the narrative itself. The focus of the story revolves around the form of a Faustian bargain Doctor Parnassus made with the devil. To secure "redemption" for Valentina, Parnassus must persuade five souls to choose creativity and compassion over addiction and greed. The struggle for these souls takes place in "The Imaginarium," a world with a mirrored gateway. The mirror is the channel into the imagination and it changes the appearance of things. This is the story-telling device which accounts for the differences in Tony's (Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell) differing appearances.

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