Terry Gilliam's 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' closely resembles a fairy tale, centering on ambiguous morals, a deal with the devil, and of course, the power of imagination. Set in the modern day, the 'Imaginarium' is a traveling show featuring Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), his daughter Valentina (Lily Cole), sleight-of-hand expert Anton (Andrew Garfield), and Percy (Verne Troyer), the Doctor's loyal confidant. Doctor Parnassus has the wonderful gift of revealing and guiding the imaginations of whomever enters the Imaginarium, though at a terrible cost. Having challenged the Devil, or Mr. Nick (Tom Waits) centuries before, he gained eternal life as he had won over 12 souls with the power of stories and imagination, before Mr. Nick won his through the temptation of desire and addiction. However, when Parnassus falls in love with a mortal woman, Mr. Nick grants him youth, but any resultant child from the union will belong to Mr. Nick once they reach the age of 16. The stakes are raised again as the wager is now 5 souls before Valentina's 16th birthday - whoever reaches 5 first gets Valentina. When the troupe saves a hanged man (Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell) who is revealed to be a disgraced philanthropist, changes occur within the show and the troupe, as well as the dynamic of the last wager.
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