Don Quixote

Lower your expectations and delight in the joy of this little film.

Please don't judge this movie on expectations of greatness or slick production values.

This is a simple film with an indie feel and corresponding budget. Its heart and humor resound throughout its short length (one hour and 22 minutes).

Pay no attention to any big name actors, they appropriately play small parts in the telling of this classic tale by Cervantes.

I was charmed by its humbleness in not trying to make itself more than what it is.

I shall be delighted to watch this again with my best friends over a wineskin or two as our hearts are buoyed and illuminated with chivalry and smiling honors.

8/10.

This version of Don Quixote, though it carries the subtitle of the novel itself, is based more on the musical "The Man of La Mancha" than on the novel. I admit that no film of the usual length could ever capture the richness and complexity of even Part 1 of the novel (Part 2 being ignored by most interpreters). A mini-series would be required to attempt to do justice to the novel. But the plot line here really aligns more with the musical than the book.

One thing that drove me crazy from the start: The letter "o" in the word "Don" is, throughout, pronounced like the "o" in the first syllable of "Donald", rather than like the "o" in phone. "Don" in Spanish is a title (like "Sir"), not a name. They could at least have pronounced it properly and not thereby announced the American origins of the film linguistically.

I would like to thank James Franco and Luiz Guzman for their participation in a great film. These A-list actors giving their time to participate in what will soon become a classic. This film captured the myth of Don Quixote. Beautiful and sad, I enjoyed the movie immensely. It recognized the depth of the human spirit. Inspirational, I wanted to take up my lance and right all the wrongs in the world. Thank you everyone who helped make this film possible.

Unfortunately, this movie does not do the book justice.

The acting is quite awful. I could not even make it through half the movie.

The movie does convey the nonsensical motives of Don Quixote.

But, this is obviously a subjective review. You must decide for yourself.

Very good cameos, yet so far from the original, and so choppy as to lose any semblance of accuracy. Superfluous scenes of Sancho and his wife in bed...