Lost in La Mancha

Lost In La Mancha may be the first "un-making of" documentary.

In a genre that exists to hype films before their release, Lost in La Mancha presents an unexpected twist: it is the story of a film that does not exist.

Following Terry Gilliam's attempt to bring Don Quixote to the big screen, Lost in La Mancha offers a unique, in-depth look at the harsher realities of filmmaking.

With drama that ranges from personal conflicts to epic storms, this is a record of a film disintegrating.

In the best tradition of documentary filmmaking, Lost in La Mancha captures all the drama of this story through "fly-on-the-wall" verite footage and on-the-spot interviews.

Gilliam's plans for the non-existent film come alive in animations of his storyboards, narrated and voiced by co-writer Tony Grisoni and Gilliam himself.

And with the camera tests of the leading actors and the rushes from the only six days of photography, Lost in La Mancha offers a tantalizing glimpse of the cinematic spectacle that might have been.

Lost in La Mancha is less a process piece about filmmakers at work and more a powerful drama about the inherent fragility of the creative process -- a compelling study of how, even with an abundance of the best will and passion, the artistic endeavor can remain an impossible dream.