Research Project -Terry Gilliam

When reading the initial preliminary PDF for the basis of our Third Year Research Project, I was pleased to see that 'film director' was recognised an option for an influence in our work. For me, film director Terry Gilliam (as mentioned in my project above) has a manner of directing that makes his actors great visual characters. They are designed to be visually distinctive, such as Baron Munchausen (right),

and off screen as an illustration

(right)

The sillouette of a character such as this is so recognisable and distinctive. Also the significance of the characters are that they actually are the plot. They are so strong that they carry the story purely on the strength of their characetersiations, which at times are 'other-wordly' they are complete fictional characters shown to us as real people. They are to me like fairytales for adults.

In Gilliam's latest film, Tideland, the plot line has been greatly debated over in the U.S. (see http://www.tidelandthemovie.com) due to a relationship between the main character, a young ten year old girl and an older man. However, his mental age is one of the same as the young girl and Gilliam carefully and gently explores the growing relationship between the two. He was also criticised for showing the little girl preparing heroin for her parents in a loving manner. Gilliam, "Thats why we are criticised... we are so used to seeing little girls in dire situations. They are supposed to be weeping and sobbing and tearing their hair out and being dramatic, and I don't think that kids are."

The environments that these characters live in are also not true environments but products of Gilliam's imagination. He applies the rules that any illustrator should follow and that is to know his chartacters inside out, to the point where only he can create the environment that they live in and successfully create it so that we all can connect with it.