The Adventures of Baron Muchausen (1989)
DVD from Columbia / Tristar
Sixteen years before setting his hand to The Brothers Grimm,
Terry Gilliam tackled another figure in European folklore-the
notorious Baron Munchausen. Largely unknown in America, the Baron
was a famous figure in German folk tales, an infamous liar whose
farfetched exploits and adventures often bordered (and frequently
surpassed) the truth.
The film opens at the beginning of the 19th century, as a small,
European city is under siege by the Ottoman Empire. A traveling
theater company is helping to quell the panic by staging the
play The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, when suddenly,
the real Baron Munchausen (Sir John Neville) barges into the
theater and interrupts the performance in an attempt to set the
record straight. The Baron is dismissed as a madman, except for
Sally (Sarah Polley), the young daughter of one of the actors.
As the Turkish cannons lay waste to the city, the Baron again
offers to try to put an end to the war and sets off in a makeshift
balloon to find his old gang and defeat the Turks, with the help
of Sally, who has stowed away in the balloon. Their odyssey takes
them to the moon, Mt. Vesuvius, the belly of a giant fish, and
the battlefield against the Turks.
Filmed in Italy, the movie is a luminous glory to behold, thanks
to cinematographer Guiseppe Rotunno (Fellini's longtime cameraman)
and the massive, palatial sets of Dante Ferretti. The score by
Michael Kamen (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) is manic,
romantic, and mannered with an 18th-century elegance. Yet while
the film is an aesthetic masterpiece, it is the actors who truly
bring the film to life. Sarah Polley (then nine years old) gives
a standout performance, disarmingly conveying Sally's innocence
and idealism, and her ultimate disenchantment with the often
frivolous behavior of the Baron. Cameo appearances by Robin Williams
and Oliver Reed (as Vulcan) are an absolute hoot while John Neville
leads the cast as the hopelessly optimistic Baron, whose promise
to save the city is continually distracted by his love of beautiful
women.
When released, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen was
only distributed to a ludicrously small number of screens. The
studio then blamed Gilliam's alleged overspending for its failure
to generate a profit. Even so, the film remains an unsung classic
that features some of Gilliam's best work.
Paul Andrew MacLean
© 2005 
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LadyJanet@RenaissanceMagazine.com