An arrogant New York shock-jock’s fall from grace is tempered by the debt he owes to an eccentric unhoused man, the woman he loves, and a search for the Holy Grail in Terry Gilliam’s magical-realist tale of redemption.

Starring Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer, and Michael Jeter. Written by Richard LaGravanese. Directed by Terry Gilliam.

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From the newsletter: I first saw this film in high school, having been vaguely aware of it when it came out a few years earlier. I was already a fan of Gilliam’s—I’d seen Munchausen as a kid, was already into Brazil, and of course was obsessed with Monty Python—and knew plenty about the story of the Holy Grail. And so I liked The Fisher King when I first saw it, but it’s been a long time since then, and didn’t know whether it would hold up.

Meanwhile, I’ve had a weird love-hate relationship with Robin Williams’ career my whole life—obsessed with Mork & Mindy (and for some reason Hook) as a kid and watching his stand-up on cable when I was probably a little too young; for some reason my mom thought Good Morning, Vietnam was perfectly fine family viewing, too. But of course his film career is so…. Look, how do you do Death to Smoochy and Jack? 1 Hour Photo and Bicentienial Man? For every Williams’ movie I hate, there’s one I love, and while we dance around it in this episode, I still don’t quite know how to pick apart how I feel about his career and its influence on me.

But meanwhile, here’s this amazing film that combines a commentary about American antipathy towards its vulnerable unhoused and mentally-unstable population, the rampant narcissism of a type of entertainer, and the appeal that myths have towards our finding a way to deal with the contradictions and pain we find in the depravities of the modern world and how we treat each other. It’s a surprisingly warm film that looks for compassion for all in unexpected places.