Director: Terry Gilliam | Release: 1995 | Genre: Sci-Fi
This is not a cheery film, but what can one expect from the director of Brazil? Made in 1995 it is set after a plague has wiped out most of all life on earth and our hero, James Cole is sent from the future to gather samples so scientists can cure the plague and mankind can reclaim the surface of earth, and no longer live underground.
Twelve Monkeys deals with the theme of fate but unlike Back to the Future and the Terminator films (at least the first two) the hero fails to prevent the outbreak, and dies, the audience has to settle for a sample successfully being retrieved by Cole before he dies and being used to make the cure for the disease, allowing mankind in the future to repopulate the earth.
The film also deals with theme of mental illness and delusions, with Cole initially trying to convince the people around him that he can save the world from a deadly pathogen and that time is running out but eventually comes to question his own sanity and perception of reality.
Like Brazil this film has a dark, gothic aesthetic with buildings and scenery in different time periods, such as the underground shelters, the mental asylum which he is put in when he goes back in time. The camera angles convey the sense of an unhealthy mind. The asylum’s filthy aspect reflects the discomfort of Cole.
The music was ominous, adding to the atmosphere. It is subtle, using the accordion, an instrument usually associated with lightness rather than danger.
The lead actor, Bruce Willis, successfully conveys the feeling of desperation as he fails to complete his mission, and his frustration that people from the past fail to understand the importance of his mission. Willis, an action star, is well cast as a man who fails in one of his objectives.
It was particularly appropriate to watch this film during the Coronavirus outbreak.
Tomás 