The Fisher King (1991)

  This movie kicked the shit out of me.  By turns funny and heart-wrenching, this is Terry Gilliam's most polished work.  I loved Brazil and Time Bandits scared the fuck out of me as a child, but I respect this film.

Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges) is a successful shock jock for a New York radio station with a very upwardly mobile career until a disturbed fan takes one of his off-handed remarks literally and shoots up a restaurant.  Wracked with guilt, Lucas becomes a shell of himself and ends up working in his girlfriend's (Mercedes Ruehl) video store.  He finally works up the nerve to try and drown himself in the East River when he is attacked by a couple of hooligans and saved by a ragtag group of homeless, led by Perry (Robin Williams), a modern-day knight errant on a search for the Holy Grail, which he believes is in a billionaire's study.  Lucas does some digging and finds that Perry wasn't always crazy; he had a nervous breakdown after his beloved wife was killed in the selfsame restaurant shooting.  Feeling responsible, Lucas decides to help Perry turn his life around but finds the experience beneficial to himself as well.

The myth of the Fisher King is beautifully referenced here as a metaphor for selflessness and faith.  Robin Williams is beyond words.  He was nominated for Best Actor at the 1992 Oscars for this role but had the bad fortune to be going against Anthony Hopkins for The Silence of the Lambs.  That's a tough break.  Criterion has added The Fisher King to their collection and I urge you to do the same.  I know I will.