फिशर किंग

I've watched Robin Williams/Jeff Bridges in this "fairytale" more times than I count. Finally bought it. You have to watch it at least twice , in my opinion,because the first time all I could do was try to let it "settle in".

I love movies that hit me broadsided and then blind me! I keep trying to watch it with my daughter, who only likes love stories, but if I can keep her still long enough she'll find out that this IS a love story, of the most incredible kind. A love story for all mankind.

I hate to gush, but if it's ever called for, it's called for here.

The first time I saw it, I was soooooooo impressed with Mercedes Rhuel's performance and actually said to my friend in the theatre, "That woman's gonna get nominated for the Oscar for this performance", which of course she won for her performance. So, I'm not so unsophisticated after all.

I recently saw this movie again. (actually I felt compelled to buy it at a video sale). I have always loved it and I continue to be moved by it. The story has such a romantic and poetic quality. It examines the nature of redemption born, not out of guilt and obligation, but out of a truly selfless act of love for another person. The film rivals "The Shawshank Redemption" in its vision of the triumph of the human spirit, and the elements of fantasy are absolutely breathtaking, especially the scene in Grand Central Station. Definitely one of Robin Williams' most moving performances.

This movie is really exceptional in a lot of ways. It's got one of those plots, full of ironic reversals and personal struggle, that's been turned into melodramatic trash in every creative medium ever invented. With Robin Williams as the magic crazy guy and Jeff Bridges in an 80s ponytail, the ways the basic concept could have gone awry (in other hands) are truly frightening to contemplate. But with Terry Gilliam at the helm, The Fisher King speaks to your emotions more directly and powerfully than 90% of the movies out there without degenerating into sappiness.

Perhaps the most brilliant acheivement of this movie is the way it takes Robin Williams' crazy-improvisational persona and makes it an integral part of the story. Instead of being a tacked-on adjunct to the "real" movie, Williams' stream-of-consciousness patter is essential to the work as a whole.

At the same time, Gilliam is making an almost-mainstream movie for the first time in his career, while explicitly referencing his past (the Holy Grail). It all comes together into a movie you will never forget.

Arguably Gilliam's best film, and certainly his best acted. As usual, Bridges is completely natural and absorbed in his role. This is the only time I've seen Robin Williams combine his best humor with his severe talent for dramatic work. He seamlessly switches from being wildly charismatic to being an empathetic, heart broken man just trying to escape his past. The basic structure is one which has been done many times, but never has it been mastered as Gilliam has done. The parallels in the story are remarkable. Parry's name being short for Parsifal, a knight of the Holy Grail. Parry saves Jack just as Parsifal saved the Fisher King. Also, Parry's flight from the Red Knight is reflected from Parsifal's battle with the Red Knight. Another parallel is seen when Parry's haunted past is brought back to him after kissing Lydia, just as Parsifal is reawakened after kissing Kundry. Gilliam creates all of this beautifully, yet keeps it very subtle and light. The film itself combines outrageous humor, heartwrenching drama and even some thrilling chase scenes. The hallucinations and flashbacks also have a very haunting ambiance to them. The film really is a tour de force on all fronts. As always, Gilliam creates a very haunting yet comfortable ambiance through some of the best cinematography I've ever seen.

Deep humanism runs through the veins of this film from Terry Gilliam, and in some ways it reminded me of old Hollywood and Frank Capra. Its treatment of the homeless and people suffering mental illness because of trauma is highly sympathetic, and in working in fantasy and romantic comedy elements, the film has a light, magical air to it. Jeff Bridges plays an unpleasant radio DJ and Robin Williams is the homeless man whose world was shattered because of something the DJ broadcast, and they're both brilliant here. Mercedes Ruehl and Amanda Plummer play their love interests, and they're fantastic as well - but Michael Jeter nearly upstages them all as the homeless cabaret singer when he belts out a show tune in drag in an office space.

One of the things I liked most about the film was how it deals with charity. We see people throwing coins at homeless people without even looking at them, and a gift of big bills in a shallow attempt to atone for wrongdoing. The scene where Bridges' character says it's not his fault to Williams who can't respond is powerful, and such a metaphor for the affluent wrestling with guilt over those who've been trampled by life (for the rich who actually feel guilt anyway). True charity begins with true empathy, we see, and the giving that comes from immersing oneself into another person's world is divine.

There are some really sweet scenes here, many of which involve Robin Williams. That beautiful story of the fisher king while looking up at the stars, how he imagines everyone waltzing in Grand Central Station because the woman he's secretly in love with is walking across the floor, and the way he tries to offset her awkwardness at the Chinese restaurant are all touching. We get little bits of his comedy too, like when his character can't help himself from picking up a discarded bottle off a trash heap while walking on his first date.

The story takes a lot of twists and turns, and maybe a few too many, en route to what was probably an inevitable ending, but this is a good one. Now if only all radio talk show hosts who glibly said harmful things had to truly confront the consequences of their words.