The Fisher King (1991)

I have never really fallen in love with Terry Gilliam's cinematic worlds. Even though his films in some way epitomize what "imagination" is, they have still never spoken to me as imaginative in the sense where imagination is something beyond mere playfulness. Brazil and Life of Brian are classics of course, but to me, it never caught me in the way for example Jacques Tati's movies move me. The Fisher king belongs to these imaginative and eccentric feats as well: a mundane world of stressed-out New Yorkers is intermingled with ... knights! And loonies. I can't quite make up my mind whether the film is just a plodding mish-mash of elements or whether there is a core of the film that bears an emotional resonance. The story turns on the encounter between Jeff Bridge's world-weary radio host and a homeless guy overplayed by Robin Williams. Perhaps its not so much Gilliam's eccentric leanings that disappoint me but rather Williams' terrible acting. Or a combination of eccentric stuff that just don't work and sloppy acting. Still, there are a few funny moments in here that involves drunken looting and gritty New York, so the film is not a complete disaster.