The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus

2009 • 122 minutes

About this movie

Blessed with the extraordinary gift of guiding the imaginations of others, Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) is cursed with a dark secret. An inveterate gambler, thousands of years ago he made a bet with the devil, Mr. Nick (Tom Waits), in which he won immortality. Centuries later, on meeting his one true love, Dr. Parnassus made another deal with the devil, trading his immortality for youth, on condition that when his daughter reached her 16th birthday, she would become the property of Mr. Nick. Valentina (Lily Cole) is now rapidly approaching this 'coming of age' milestone and Dr. Parnassus is desperate to protect her from her impending fate. Mr. Nick arrives to collect but, always keen to make a bet, renegotiates the wager. Now the winner of Valentina will be determined by whoever seduces the first five souls. Enlisting a series of wild, comical and compelling characters in his journey, Dr. Parnassus promises his daughter's hand in marriage to the man that helps him win. In this captivating, explosive and wonderfully imaginative race against time, Dr. Parnassus must fight to save his daughter in a never-ending landscape of surreal obstacles -- and undo the mistakes of his past once and for all! Also starring Heath Ledger, Andrew Garfield, Verne Troyer, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law. © 2009 Imaginarium Films, Inc. and Parnassus Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Ratings and reviews

This film is difficult to quantify... A somewhat dramatic comedy, mixed with adventure and fantasy, makes this feel a bit like a madman's version of Alice in Wonderland meets The Prestige, with a sprinkle of Willy Wonka. Definitely worth a watch, because of the dark intrigue.

With the death of Heath in the middle of filming this, the take overs by other famous actors was not only Really Courageous but elegantly done. A "brain-tease-bend-melt" I ultimately baught this movie. Always alittle extra to see the next time around ((watch it, ull get the last comment 😉

This was a great movie. The story was amazing and I think worked better having him change physical bodies throughout the movie. I don't think it would have worked as well if it was just heath ledger.