Terry Gilliam has written and directed some of the most peculiar films in recent memory, most notably his work with the Monty Python franchise which aided in the launching of an equally peculiar career. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is no exception to the list of odd and wonderful projects Gilliam has helmed, which is exactly what the film aims for. Out-of-this-world ideas and images are par for the course, and in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen the Baron himself is a myth, a legend that bursts into the real world that has no place for such nonsense.
The film takes place while an unnamed town is under siege by the Turks. The town’s governing authority makes it quite clear that heroic actions are unwelcome amongst his citizens and unusual or unexpected behavior is frowned upon. In the midst of the war an acting troupe attempts to lighten the hearts of the citizens by relaying some of the fantastic adventures of the legendary Baron Munchausen. While in the midst of telling one of his adventures, an old man claiming to be the real Baron tells them off for getting the story wrong. After upsetting the local authorities, the actors are sentenced to be thrown out of the town. The man claiming to be the Baron promises to find his loyal servants, who he left scattered about the earth (and the moon), and bring them back to save the town. All of his servants have super human abilities that the Baron is able to use along with his superior (though logically unsound) strategic skills.
(*spoilers* but seriously, the movie is 24 years old at this point) The movie, like all of Gilliam’s films, is overly optimistic in what it can achieve, however in this instance he achieves it quite well. Our hero floats over a war in a hot air balloon which takes him to the moon. After his adventure on the moon he falls to the center of a volcano where he is waited on by the god Vulcan and his wife, Venus. Their visit is short lived as Vulcan throws the adventurers into the south sea where they are swallowed by a giant sea creature, all the while death is chasing after the Baron. The way that Gilliam shows all this is stunning, especially in considering the technology available in 1988 for special effects. Gilliam’s more recent directorial effort The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus was bogged down, almost irreparably so, to the enticement of computer generated effects. However in Baron Munchausen the effects are entirely reliant on large sets and pyrotechnics, the scale of everything is incredible.
The film successfully captures the wonder of stories, showing the potential that imagination can have if given the opportunity. The story, though often confusing, is fun and whimsical, it boasts an excellent cast all of whom do very well at embodying their characters in a world that is familiar only to the furthest corners of our imagination.
Popcorn and Peril 