Terry Gilliam receives a calligram from me
On January 4, 2019, at a screening of his film “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” organized by the Umbria Film Festival, I had the opportunity to meet and get to know the great director Terry Gilliam. A former member of Monty Python, the group that revolutionized world comedy, he directed many of the greatest actors of our time, from Brad Pitt to Matt Demon, from Robin Williams to Sean Connery, later being nominated for an Oscar in 1985 for best screenplay.
I therefore wanted to pay a small tribute to this great cinematic genius. In the course of the dinner I presented him with a calligram I had prepared for him.
Text:
Vivrà felice colui che nella vita riesce a trovare il Graal dell’arte con cui placare la sete degli, o la loro pace è il suo tormento? Me lo domando pieno d’invidia, quasi fossi un qualunque Sancho Panza
Translation:
Will he live happily who in life can find the grail of art with which to quench the thirst of, or is their peace his torment? I ask myself full of envy, as if I were any Sancho Panza.
I also had a long conversation with him, which later resulted in an article. Amazing how Terry Gilliam was talking in 2019 so openly about the problem of political correctness.
I can never in my life forget the comment Maestro Gilliam made by email about our meeting, the calligram and the article, “POWER TO POETS!” I wonder if that was good advice.