I saw Lost in La Mancha last night, a documentary account of visionary filmmaker Terry Gilliam’s ill-fated first stab at realizing his decade-old script for The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. La Mancha is at once comical and devastating, since it is clear that if Gilliam’s Quixote is ever finished, it will be an astounding picture, but the production is plagued by every problem imaginable (and unimaginable). From a creative perspective, this must be the most poignant example I’ve seen of Murphy’s Law at work. Gilliam hasn’t given up yet, though, so let’s keep our fingers crossed that he can pull it off.

In other film news, the 12th Philadelphia Film Festival (formerly the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema) kicks off next week. I put together a schedule of screenings and events I’m going to try to attend and I’d love to have some company, so if you see anything on the list that looks interesting, e-mail me and maybe we can meet up.