Vintage: 12 Monkeys
When most people think of the Monty Python films, they don’t think of post-apocalypse worlds abandoned by humans. Rather, we think of poorly animated foots, and holy hand grenades used to kill rabbits. But believe it or not, the man behind the 1995 sci-fi classic 12 Monkeys is co-writer and director Terry Gilliam. Gilliam later went on to write and direct a strong, coked-up film with Johnny Depp called Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas. Though filmed in a very similar style, the films are completely different!
12 Monkeys is a film that takes place in 2027, where humans have abandoned the surface of the planet in order to survive a deadly virus that wiped out 5 billion people. Their plan is to send someone back in time to find clues as to where the virus started, and where to obtain the original strain before it mutates. These scientists volunteer an inmate for the work. His name is James Cole (Bruce Willis). His travels back and forth leave him disoriented as to what the real world might be, confused as to what past, present and future really are.
Style equals definition. And Gilliam never falls short on style. Filmed with a special flat-lens camera, the visual effects give the viewer some experience of the disorienting nature of time travel, and the mental stress placed on Cole.
While on one of his trips, he is imprisoned in one of the mental hospitals. This is where Cole meets his partner, Dr Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe), who has a strange connection to Cole’s past. After being abducted by Cole, Railly is slowly convinced that Cole is telling the truth, and that the world is to end in only a few days. They search out what they believe to be the people responsible for the virus: a group of people calling themselves the Army of the 12 Monkeys. This group is led by an insane fanatic named Jeffrey (Brad Pitt), a fellow inmate when Cole was imprisoned.
This film is not only directed well, the actors do an excellent job to portray the time period that they exist in, and the dangers that exist if they fail. Willis does an excellent job in portraying the mental pressure placed on a human when passing back and forth between a world he can only remember, and one in which he must hide from the surface and any germs.
The cinematography is also a powerful element in this film. From the very beginning, Cole is exposed to locations he feels as if he has visited before. Birds fluttering and bears roaring pave way to echoes he experiences when he later visits these locations (in the past, that is). That, and Gilliam’s flat-lens camera create a world that we rarely get to see on camera: one that we can believe and still be afraid of!
If you’ve not seen this film, I’d suggest it. It’s one of my favorite sci-fi films, and holds its ground against those that are similar. If you have seen it, watch it again. It’s a great film!
12 Monkeys is a film that takes place in 2027, where humans have abandoned the surface of the planet in order to survive a deadly virus that wiped out 5 billion people. Their plan is to send someone back in time to find clues as to where the virus started, and where to obtain the original strain before it mutates. These scientists volunteer an inmate for the work. His name is James Cole (Bruce Willis). His travels back and forth leave him disoriented as to what the real world might be, confused as to what past, present and future really are.
Style equals definition. And Gilliam never falls short on style. Filmed with a special flat-lens camera, the visual effects give the viewer some experience of the disorienting nature of time travel, and the mental stress placed on Cole.
While on one of his trips, he is imprisoned in one of the mental hospitals. This is where Cole meets his partner, Dr Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe), who has a strange connection to Cole’s past. After being abducted by Cole, Railly is slowly convinced that Cole is telling the truth, and that the world is to end in only a few days. They search out what they believe to be the people responsible for the virus: a group of people calling themselves the Army of the 12 Monkeys. This group is led by an insane fanatic named Jeffrey (Brad Pitt), a fellow inmate when Cole was imprisoned.
This film is not only directed well, the actors do an excellent job to portray the time period that they exist in, and the dangers that exist if they fail. Willis does an excellent job in portraying the mental pressure placed on a human when passing back and forth between a world he can only remember, and one in which he must hide from the surface and any germs.
The cinematography is also a powerful element in this film. From the very beginning, Cole is exposed to locations he feels as if he has visited before. Birds fluttering and bears roaring pave way to echoes he experiences when he later visits these locations (in the past, that is). That, and Gilliam’s flat-lens camera create a world that we rarely get to see on camera: one that we can believe and still be afraid of!
If you’ve not seen this film, I’d suggest it. It’s one of my favorite sci-fi films, and holds its ground against those that are similar. If you have seen it, watch it again. It’s a great film!
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