Terry Gilliam’s The Zero Theorem Unveils A Dreamy Domestic Trailer
This article is more than 2 years old
Everything adds up to nothing. That’s the basic premise that Qohen Leth (Christoph Waltz), a reclusive computer genius, is tasked with proving in Terry Gilliam’s newest film, The Zero Theorem. As you can imagine, this leads to something of an existential crisis. After all, if there is no point to anything we do, why the hell should we do it in the first place? This struggle is front and center in the latest domestic trailer, which was just unveiled ahead of the recently announced US release date that we’ve been waiting so long for, September 19 (though we will be able to see it first on VOD starting August 19).
Watching this latest offering, which debuted over at iTunes Movie Trailers, you can’t help but be struck by Gilliam’s visual sense. And just in case you somehow miss keying in on that element of the film, this video is full of disembodied quotes from critics that will call your attention to it over and over again.
The obvious reference point is Brazil, Gilliam’s classic 1985 nightmare about a dystopian bureaucracy where rogue plumbers ply their trade in secret, under penalty of torture and death. There are definite parallels, thematically as well as in an aesthetic sense, but they appear to be distinct enough films that the cries that they are too similar seem unfounded and lazy. More than anything, this video places Gilliam’s sense of wonder and the fantastic on full display, and the end result is stunning. I’ll probably watch this when it hits VOD, just because I’ve been waiting what feels like forever to finally see it, but I can’t wait to see this on a big screen, too. I hope it’s been worth the wait.
Any time that Gilliam actually gets a movie made is a big event for us. Though he has turned out some of our favorites like 12 Monkeys, Time Bandits, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, it seems like for every movie that makes it to completion, there are at least a couple more projects that never come to fruition. And he’s still trying to get a Don Quixote movie made, even though it is probably going to kill him in the end. But we’re willing to be patient.
Though The Zero Theorem is coming soon, the film has been in the news lately for a different reason. The Motion Picture Association of America recently banned an esoteric, dreamy poster because it just so happens to feature an image of multiple Academy Award-winner Christoph Waltz’s bare ass just kind of hanging out in space. Is it really that bad? I’m definitely of the opinion that this is way less offensive than the glut of generic posters that feature the star standing with his or her back to us while a scene of destruction unfolds in front of them. At least this is something different and moderately interesting. Check the poster out for yourself, though warning, it may shock and traumatize your delicate eyeballs.
