What filmmaking techniques does The Man Who Killed Don Quixote use?

CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018): Fiction Crossing Into Reality, Playing Along With Delusion, Unreliable Reality and Film Within a Film.

Who directed The Man Who Killed Don Quixote?

Terry Gilliam directed The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, released in 2018. CineCode also covers Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), The Fisher King (1991), Twelve Monkeys (1995), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998).

What films are similar to The Man Who Killed Don Quixote?

Films that share techniques with The Man Who Killed Don Quixote include I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (2006), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Bug (2007), In the Mouth of Madness (1995).

Adventure · Comedy · Fantasy

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

Terry Gilliam, 2018

Toby, a film director shooting a commercial in Spain, finds an old student film he made about Don Quixote. He tracks down the shoemaker he cast, who now believes he really is Quixote and that Toby is his squire. Watch how the film blurs a story, a movie and real life.

2 Narrative 1 Psychology 1 Cinematography

At a glance

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is a 2018 adventure, comedy and fantasy film directed by Terry Gilliam. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (2 narrative, 1 psychology and 1 cinematography), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK uses several of the same techniques.

Narrative

Fiction Crossing Into Reality

Letting characters or stories cross the boundary between fiction and the real world inside the film. It plays with how much we rely on stories to cope with life.

How this film uses it

Javier played Don Quixote in Toby's student film and has never let go of the part. He now lives as the knight, and Toby gets pulled into the story. The boundary between a movie role and a real person disappears.

Where to see it

Toby's return to Los Sueños. Toby meets Javier, now working as a tourist attraction, who is convinced he is the real Don Quixote.

Narrative

Playing Along With Delusion

Having a character step into another person's delusion and help from inside it, without arguing against it. The kindness works because it respects how they see the world.

How this film uses it

Toby tries at first to correct Javier, then slowly plays along. Doing so keeps Javier calm and keeps the journey moving. It also becomes a kind of kindness that Toby never expected to give.

Where to see it

The accidental fire. Quixote sets fire to the town while Toby, now called his squire Sancho Panza, escapes on the motorbike.

Psychology

Unreliable Reality

Keeping it unclear what is real and what is imagined in the film's world. You end up as unsure as the main character.

How this film uses it

You are never sure what Toby sees is real and what belongs to Quixote's imagination. The film lets the knight's view and the director's view overlap. You end up as unsure as Toby is.

Where to see it

The police encounter. On the way to questioning, Toby and the police run into Don Quixote riding his horse.

Cinematography

Film Within a Film

Showing a movie that the characters watch in a theater, as part of the story. The 2 films comment on each other, and the line between them can blur.

How this film uses it

Toby watches his old student film on a DVD in a hotel room. The film shows who he was and who he has become. It also tells you how much damage it did to the people in it.

Where to see it

The DVD scene. Toby plays The Man Who Killed Don Quixote in bed with the Boss's wife and has to escape when the Boss returns.

Questions

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote: quick answers

What filmmaking techniques does The Man Who Killed Don Quixote use?: CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018): Fiction Crossing Into Reality, Playing Along With Delusion, Unreliable Reality and Film Within a Film.
Who directed The Man Who Killed Don Quixote?: Terry Gilliam directed The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, released in 2018. CineCode also covers Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), The Fisher King (1991), Twelve Monkeys (1995), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998).
What films are similar to The Man Who Killed Don Quixote?: Films that share techniques with The Man Who Killed Don Quixote include I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (2006), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Bug (2007), In the Mouth of Madness (1995).

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