We explain how the mindfuck blockbuster works.
Dystopian science fiction has become Terry Gilliam’s hobbyhorse over the years – and one such work includes the 1995 film “12 Monkeys”. And even 28 years after its release, the work – fueled by a series adaptation that ran for four seasons from 2015 to 2018 – can still look back on a loyal fan base.
Why does the film still work today? Because it’s like a 129-minute puzzle in which not only the boundaries between delusion and reality are blurred, but also space and time don’t follow the rules we know. “12 Monkeys” is therefore overwhelming the first time around and is more likely to reward multiple viewings because there are little hints of the amazing finale hidden throughout the film.
We untangle the sometimes paradoxical threads of the blockbuster and tell you in simple terms what the hell Terry Gilliam actually captured on film.
The paradoxical search for the origin of a virus
In the year 2035, James Cole (Bruce Willis) is tasked with searching for the origin of a deadly virus that has wiped out much of humanity. To do this, scientists send him back in time and give him just one clue: 12 Monkeys – the name of a group that is said to have something to do with the virus.
But apparently time travel won’t work so well in the future either. Because Cole ends up in the wrong time twice in a row. First in 1990. There he tries to warn humanity about the killer virus, but is immediately declared crazy and admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Once there, he meets the supposedly crazy Geffrey Goines (Brad Pitt) and the doctor Dr. Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe).
After the second attempt, Cole finds himself in the trenches of World War I, which isn’t much better.
All good things are 3
Only the third shot hits the mark and thus to the year 1996. There, Cole sees a seemingly easy-to-understand picture: he meets Goines, who has now been released from the psychiatric hospital and is a member of the 12 Monkeys. His father also runs a virological research facility. For Cole the matter is clear; he believes he has found the origin of the virus.
Since Cole has a very idiosyncratic definition of “looking for allies,” he quickly kidnaps Dr. Railly and wants to convince them of the impending end of humanity. But things turn out to be even more difficult than expected. Because Cole increasingly suffers from flashbacks in which he sees himself as a child at an airport. These delusions soon burst into Cole’s reality.
Ultimately, however, Cole succeeds in getting Dr. To convince Railly of his reality. But the trail of the 12 Monkeys leads to a dead end. In reality, the group is little more than a collection of over-motivated animal rights activists who want to free zoo animals from their prisons. Meanwhile, however, Dr. Peters, an employee of Goine’s father, from the shadows. And now it comes: He is actually the one who wants to unleash the virus on the world.
The end is the beginning is the end
Cole pursues Dr. Peters to the airport, but is killed by the police when they try to shoot him. The virus can be released and Cole dies. And watching: the little boy from the flashbacks, who turns out to be Cole himself. Dr. Railley recognizes him and smiles at him.
Meanwhile, Dr. Peters on the plane. In the next seat: one of the scientists who sent Cole back from the future of 2035. End. The loop is closed. In any case, this is a particularly common reading of the film. James Cole basically moves in circles through time over and over again, leaving behind the clues for his next, descendant version.
The question of whether Cole can be successful in his mission does not even arise. Because according to these rules, the future is fixed and can no longer be changed by actions in the past. That’s why the memories of his own death keep coming back to Cole’s consciousness through flashbacks – and that’s why he always ends up as a captured criminal in 2035.
The 12 Monkeys themselves are a false trail that not only Cole, but also the audience follows – only to have to question everything in the end.
“12 Monkeys” is available to rent and buy on numerous VoD platforms.