This quirky and watchable film is the story of a deluded dentist who starts out on his mission or crusade to fight tooth decay in the back and beyonds of Patagonia. Hailing from Northern Ireland, via New Jersey, the main character, Fergus, sees his crusade as a mission of mass importance and approaches it with all the enthusiasm, vitality, discipline and attention to detail one would expect from a trained dentist. Which adds to the hilarity, as his grand plans unravel and gradually fall to pieces as he goes from disaster to debacle in the Patagonian outback on the back of a customised motor bike or his, er, mobile dental unit. We never get to meet his wife, nor the rich philanthropist who is sponsoring the ill-fated mission, but, we do get a solid display from Lewis. Fans of his work will not be disappointed with his very believable performance as the deluded dentist who is gallantly adored by the, innocent but sexy, 18 year old female lead who tags along on for the *ahem* ride.This film is not for everyone and I can understand why it wasn't pushed by the suits. It's a low budget, sometimes charming, always disarming, mildly amusing and instantly forgettable film that sets out with low expectations and almost succeeds.

Played with a deadpan sincerity, this charming, gentle, dreamlike film may not strike the casual viewer as anything special at first. But Fergus O'Connell stands in the great picaresque tradition of Don Quijote: a man intensely focussed on doing good in a world that urgently needs it, baffled by that world's failure to acknowledge the need, and so devoted to his cause that he ignores that world's reality in favor of the surreal world that we see here through his idealistic eyes. Witty, sophisticated in its understanding of its literary roots, and brilliantly played by a perfect cast, this is one that you shouldn't miss. Unfortunate problems with the sound--from the endless winds in Patagonia--and other troubles kept it from theatrical release in the U.S. But Day-Lewis, as always, deserves an Oscar for this characterization. At least.

I am in a very peculiar mood right now having just seen this movie. It is, to me at least, so bizarre my head is spinning. Not bizarre in an obvious, flashy way, but because the film takes itself so seriously in creating a protagonist the viewer relates to and empathize with, yet the character is utterly ridiculous. It leaves one to think, perhaps he's not ridiculous at all, but maybe this is what we are all like. As I have just minutes ago seen the film it's probable my opinion will change, but at this moment, what I got from this film was a very subtle but nonetheless effective message that life, films, people, teeth, war, and whatever else are completely meaningless. In one scene the dentist is explaining how silly the fighting in Northern Ireland is, if they could only realize their teeth are decaying. This film to me says, 'meaningless', and I appreciated it. I would be very curious to learn about the development of this film and what everyone involved was thinking. All in all, a film certainly worth seeing, and I must add that Daniel Day-Lewis was the reason I rented the film and I wasn't disappointed. The best actor of our generation. Unbelievable. Can't wait for Gangs of New York.

I'm not sure how many other mobile-dentist-in-Argentina movies have been made, but this must be the best of the bunch. Daniel Day-Lewis is absolutely possessed, as a man determined to rid rural South America of tooth decay. Maltin's low rating is unjustified (1 1/2*), this fits rather in the hidden treasure category. Mirjana Jokovic, a girl Daniel meets along the way, gives a haunting innocent-but-sexy performance.