By Steven Zeitchik

We wish we didn't have to say it, but we caught Dr. Parnassus at its Cannes world premiere last night, and we're afraid we're with the naysayers.

The movie is as head-trippy and expressionistic as advertised, and as light on (coherent) plot. It manages to be full of noise and color and hectic visuals — and yet not filled with very much at all.

That's the bad news. The good news is that it actually gets better as it goes along, which is not something one often says about rainbow-colored, acid-trip movies.

For the first forty-five minutes or so it muddles through one mainly generic carnival sideshow scene after another, before finally coming to life when Heath Ledger drops in — quite literally, hanging by a rope as a mysterious 'Hang Man' (whether it was a conscious homage to his final scene in "The Dark Knight" we don't know, but the symmetry is hard to miss).

Ledger, playing a character named Tony, has an idea to revive the ratty carnival that Chrstopher Plummer's Parnassus and his small band of workers peddle, and suddenly ordinary people are going through portals, where they see and live through a brought-to-life version of their own imaginations. The visuals in these scenes — featuring a rich palette rife and video game-style photorealism — are indeed impressive. If Hunter Thompson tried to direct "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" while on a serious acid trip, it would probably look a lot like this. (Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is another obvious visual reference point.)

Ledger's appearance isn't just a pivot in the plot, of course — it's also a part of the backstory, since he's only in the film for about twenty-five minutes when he's replaced by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell, who are all dressed in exactly the same suit and facial hair but represent different aspects of whomever's subconscious we happen to be in at that moment (we would say it makes sense when you see it, but, truth be told, it doesn't)

Still, Gilliam moves between these various Tonys with a certain aplomb (Ledger is also deftly brought back a few times), as these switches actually become an important part of the story, since Tony's shapeshifting is also a subject of increasing mystery and concern to the others. It's such an important (and, at times, intriguing) turn, that we had to wonder what filled the second half of the movie before Ledger's death.

In the end, though, it's not quite enough. We hate punishing a film for strong visuals; just because it's cool to look at doesn't necessarily mean it's boring to watch. But watching this one nonetheless has the sense that Gilliam puts so much effort into visual flash he forgets to build up the rest of the story to match it.

At the Palais screening, there was a distinct lack of glamour when none of the three actors who stepped in to play the Ledger part turned up (hungry paparazzi were left to play with the ball of yarn that was Verne Troyer, who plays a sidekick in the pic). After all the hype, the movie may make auds feel similarly let down.

By Steven Zeitchik

There's no way of knowing exactly how "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" is going to go over tomorrow night here in Cannes, on any level. This is a movie that's been famous practically since birth, a little indie thrust into the spotlight when Heath Ledger died right in the middle of shooting.

And like any baby born into fame, it's anyone's guess how people will react when said baby actually tries to do something more serious (in this case, be judged artistically as a film and break Terry Gilliam's streak of misses that stretches back more than a decade).

On the one hand it's going to have the energy of its stars like Johnny Depp and the heart-tug of seeing Ledger's name and face in a place he'd never been as actor but surely wanted to go.

On the other hand, it's contending with a sparser and more fatigued Cannes audience at this late stage, along with what has been at best mixed advance word on the quality of the film (which has basically held that the visuals are a lot better than the storytelling). This premiere has more plotlnes than a Russian novel — a star-driven movie in a fest devoid of them, a heartbreaking story about the work of a posthumous actor that may not resonate because it already played out at the Oscars, a U.S.-sales bid that didn't work out prior to the festival but will be attempted again here on the Croisette.

Let's just hope those aren't the most interesting storylines associated with the film.

By Steven Zeitchik

"Is it brilliant or is it muddled?" we've been quizzing acquisition execs who saw "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" at the first and heretofore only buyers' screening earlier in the week. "And, more to the point, would you buy it?"

The first question has yielded an answer of surprising consistency. Both, many said. Not always strong or simple on the narrative, and that sometimes makes for a muddle, but visually and at times conceptually very sharp, which that can make the Terry Gilliam film brilliant. (A rendering of some juicy plot details courtesy of Nicole Sperling over at Entertainment Weekly.)

On the second question, buyers were not opposed, but for the most part they said the answer would come down to price (doesn't it always?). Heath Ledger and the triumvirate of Depp, Law and Farrel make it eminently publicity-friendly, so there's value in the film if you spend the right amount, they said. (ah, but whose right amount?).

To go above that threshold, though, they noted a movie of this sort needs word of mouth, and it's tricky to determine how much the visuals and vision would carry that. "And Gilliam fans are tough to read," said one buyer. "It's hard to say how many of them there are, and, among them, how many will come out and buy a ticket for a new movie."

While certain early reactions — a Mr. Harry Knowles comes to mind — have loved it (or, more technically,  noted that their response was Holy F%*#ing Wow), for a full critical reading we'll have to wait for the Cannes premiere next weekend. We have a feeling we'll be hearing a lof of 'both' there too.

By Steven Zeitchik

Heath Ledger's last film could be debuting in…France?

While there's no official word from the Cannes film fest,  film-biz insiders say that Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" will in all likelihood head to the Croisette in mid-May.

While release dates around the world won't happen until the fall — and there's still no U.S. distributor on board — a Cannes screening will at least give media and fans a lot more to chew on, not to mention dramatically up the chances, finally, for a U.S. deal.

The film, which looks at a traveling carnival that gives patrons more than they bargain for, is supposed to be rife with the usual Gilliam head-trippiness, with Ledger playing a shapeshifting character said to make "The Joker" look like an accountant. (Our full report on what could be at the fest can be found here.)

It's been a lengthy postproduction process for the pic, with Gilliam tweaking for months. But it looks like it's finally the moment for a public unspooling.

Gilliam himself is a Cannes favorite — he was last there for Johnny Depp's acid-trip weirdness "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas" — but more important, this would offer the prospect of several stars and Ledger contemporaries — including Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law, who all stepped in to play different parts of Ledger's role after the actor died last year — paying homage to the late actor.

And you thought the Oscars were a tearful tribute…

By Steven Zeitchik

Backstage at the Oscars on Sunday night, Kate Ledger told reporters that her family is very much in the loop on her brother's final movie.

"We've seen a little bit of the footage," she said of Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," Ledger's last film. "I think it's going to be amazing."

But the comments only highlighted a larger question: When will U.S. audiences get to see it?

The head-trippy "Parnassus," about a traveling magician who gives customers more than they bargained for, is a joint production of financing entity Grosvenor Park and sales mogul Samuel Hadida of Davis Films. It was gliding along as just another independently financed production — and product of Gilliam's funhouse imagination — when Ledger died early last year right in the middle of production.

In a now-famous turn, the project's fate was thrown into question until Jude Law, Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp stepped in, with all three part of an elaborate workaround that has the actors playing different parts of Ledger's role.

That saved the production for the time being. But the sales process since then has been nearly as elaborate — and complicated.

A number of U.S. buyers during the summer and early fall were said to be interested in acquiring stateside rights — Lionsgate and Overture were reportedly among the potential suitors — but word of a potential deal quickly quieted down.

That has fueled all sorts of rumors in indie circles, ranging from dissent over finances on the producers' side to an extended and messy post-production session to outsized expectations on the part of filmmakers.

Many of those rumors have yet to be substantiated. But the film has nonetheless run into more concrete obstacles.

The presence of a key marketing element like Ledger does indeed make sellers and investors aim for higher dollar figures — especially true for a film whose budget is thought to be upward of $20 million.

And as much as buyers might covet the Ledger aspect, the pic still presents a marketing challenge.  Gilliam has grown more experimental in recent years, and experts say that retailing "Parnassus" as a Ledger film
risks running a word-of-mouth problem with general audiences
unaccustomed to that kind of material.

And even the director's more straightforward fare, like the 2005 con-man movie "The Brothers Grimm," has struggled, 

A U.S. deal is expected shortly, with a mini-major or larger indie expected to make the play. (The movie does already have a deal for Mandate International/Lionsgate to release it in the U.K., where Gilliam tends to fare better, and is expected to open there in the summer. Other territories, from Japan to Spain, have been presold to international distribs as well.)

Still, the absence of a sale for an icon's last movie nearly six months after talks began speaks to the difficulty of selling art house films to the domestic market, as buyers wait until later in the production process, take fewer bets and offer lower prices. "This movie stars Heath Ledger in his final performance — it will get a deal and come out in the U.S.," said one indie film veteran. "But it's no accident that it's taking this long."