The Zero Theorem (2013)

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nTitle: The Zero Theorem (2013)

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nDirector: Terry Gilliam

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nCast: Christoph Waltz, Lucas Hedges, David Thewlis, MattnDamon, Tilda Swinton, Peter Stormare

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nI hold director Terry Gilliam in very high esteem; he hasnbeen one my favorite directors since…forever. He and I have a kinship, we arenon the same channel, we see the world in the same way, a world  filled with bureaucracy, big corporations andngovernments trying to feverishly stomp out what’s left of our humanity, our imaginations,nour dreams. It’s this particular world view that is always mirrored in hisnfilms. There’s this theory in the world of cinema that says that every directornkeeps making the same film over and over again until he or she dies, this theorynholds true for many directors. They don’t always tell the same exact story, butnthey do play with the same themes over and over again. For example, Gilliam’snfilms usually deal with characters that escape the horrors of this world byndreaming of a better one. In Gilliam’s films, the great escape is our minds. Onenof Gilliam’s first films, Time Bandits (1981), is about a little boy who avoidsnhis dismal family life by escaping to the fantastic worlds he finds in hisnbooks, in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) the Baron helps an entirentown escape the horrors of war by entertaining them with his tall tales and innThe Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (2009) Gilliam showed us how our imaginationsnare really a mirror of ourselves. How what he shows us in his films, is reallyna reflection of us, of humanity. And now we’ve got The Zero Theorem (2013),ndoes Gilliam play with his favorite themes once again?

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n In The Zero Theoremnwe follow the life of Qohen Leth, a computer programmer, who works for ancompany called ManCom. The problem with Qohen is that he’s tired of thenrepetitive work; he hates to go out into the world, face the noise. In this waynhe reminded me of the man who turns into a cockroach because he doesn’t want tonleave his home to go to work in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. In The ZeronTheorem, Qohen believes he can be more productive working from his home, so henwants to meet with management to propose the idea to them. To his surprise,nmanagement says “yes” but on one condition, that instead of doing the usualnwork he does, he must instead attempt to solve “The Zero Theorem”. What exactlynis the Zero Theorem and can Qohen solve it?

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nThe original title for Terry Gilliam’s Brazil (1985) was ‘1984n½’, this unused title referenced both George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiecen‘1984’ and Federico Fellini’s  8 1/2 (1963),nso from very early on in his career Gilliam had an affinity for Orwell’sndystopian masterpiece and Fellini’s surreal film. In Orwell’s 1984 the government has sucked the wondernout of life and people simply work to produce, to form part of the whole. Innthis novel, all individuality has been eradicated from society. All thesenOrwellian themes can be found in The Zero Theorem; for example, when Qohenntalks, he refers to himself as “We” never as “I” which lets us see he is sonoppressed by ‘the system’ that he has ceased to stop thinking of himself, henonly thinks of the group. The Zero Theorem also echoes Federico Fellini’s 8 ½nbecause it’s a film whose main character is constantly dreaming in an attemptnto escape the hectic demands of his life; Qohen escapes to the virtual world,nthe only place where he can find peace. So yes, this new film has all the usual Gilliam influences, with the added element that Gilliam now comments on the digitalnage we live in, in The Zero Theorem his characters don’t just escape to theirndream worlds, they escape to virtual dream worlds. 

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nA lot of folks are referring to The Zero Theorem as the lastnchapter in Gilliam’s ‘satirical dystopian trilogy’ a trio of films consistingnof The Zero Theorem, 12 Monkeys (1995) and Brazil (1985). The reason being thatnthese films all share the same idea of man trying to survive in a crazy, out ofncontrol future where a totalitarian government has brought humanity to anhorrible, lifeless end. For example, the main character in Brazil was Sam Lowry,nan office dweller who works in a small cubicle, crunching numbers, not at allnthat different from Qohen, who feverishly works on his computer, without ansecond to blink. There’s a moment in which Qohen (brilliantly played bynChristoph Waltz) is trying to solve the Zero Theorem and as he is almost there,nhe’s face lights up in ecstasy, like he was high on some drug, not all thatndifferent from when we plug into a video game and solve it. I’m sure Gilliamnwas commenting on this as well, we work hours in an office only to come homenand unwind in front of a television screen, trying to solve a meaninglessnpuzzle, called a video game. Every time we pass to the next level, we get thisnlittle rush, this feeling of achievement which amounts to nothing? This remindsnme of how the film constantly reminds us that 100% = 0.

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nThe Zero Theorem also explores the idea of religion and thenexistence of God; yes my friends, on this film Gilliam ponders the bignquestions. Why are we here? What does it all mean? Is God real? You see, throughoutnthe film Qohen is always waiting for a phone call, a mysterious phone call thatnwill give him an answer to a question that even Qohen doesn’t fully understand,nyet he’s waiting for it. Kind of like those people waiting for God to talk tonthem, they spend their entire lives waiting to hear that voice. In the film, itnis understood that Qohen is suffering from some type of insanity because ofnthis illusion he lives under, not unlike your typical Jesus Freak, alwaysnexpecting for God to talk to them, always waiting for God to solve their lives,nto tell them what to do, to answer the big questions for them. Even though thenfilm alludes to Qohen being insane, I wouldn’t say he is. He’s simply living anlie, slowly uncovering the truth, learning that he’s been taken for a fool. Thentruth is ‘the call’ is a delusion. No one is going to call you. You gotta takenthe reins of your life. It is sad to see Qohen under such mental stress overnthese matters, which is probably what the filmmakers want us to notice, thenunnecessary mental struggle that religion puts you through. But still, thosenbig questions remain unanswered. Who will answer them? Will they ever getnanswered?  

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nThere’s so much more to The Zero Theorem than what I’ve mentionednhere, it’s the kind of film that begs to be seen more than once. I for one neednto give it a re-watch, I love it when a film does that to me. It compels me tonwatch it again, almost immediately. Last time this happened to me was withnDavid Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (2001). So yeah, this movie is like a puzzle,nit’s a brainy film. It’s made for those of us who like to get all existentialnand philosophical, all others will probably end up scratching their heads, askingnthemselves what the hell this movie is about. Is it Gilliam’s best film? Not ifnyou ask this Terry Gilliam fan, but I don’t blame Gilliam himself. The man isnworking with micro budgets when compared to the gazillion dollar movies he usednto make during the 80’s and 90’s. Sadly, this is an ailment that many an auteurnsuffers from.  Big studios won’t give directorsnsuch as Gilliam the big bucks to make the big movies they could be makingnbecause artful films are risky, and studios hate to lose money on a film. So thisnis why we’re getting this ‘low budget’ version of Terry Gilliam, which as itnturns out, is still amazing. Because it’s not the money behind the movie, it’snthe imagination and creativity behind the camera that brings a film to life.nAnd to be honest, films like this mean a whole lot more to me then the latest,nbrainless Hollywood blockbuster. Terry Gilliam remains the soul of truendreamers, fantasists and artists out there, a director who makes films againstnall odds, my hats down to you sir. You’ve won yet another battle and have givennus another soul searching film.

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