Quick appraisal of one of the most brilliant films ever

Rating: 10/10 (16 September 2001)

When Terry Gilliam (director) got the results back from the first test screenings of '12 Monkeys' he became worried that he had created a major flop and repeated the misfortunes that befell 'The Adventures of Baron Von Munchausen'. What he later discovered was that the audiences at the screenings were too narrow-minded to appreciate the brilliance of what later became a very successful film. The main problem was that it was something they had never seen before and it confused them.
The film depicts a dark and scary world of maniacs and distruction, yet has an underlying message of hope. Not perhaps for the material world which is inevitably wiped out, but for humanity. Bruce Willis, in one of his best performances, plays a man from the future who is sent back to 1996 to prevent the release of a virus that all but destroys the human race. Although not sure what is reality and what is delusion within his confused mind, he struggles on to save the world.
The film is full of ambiguities: the imagery of decay yet has a certain beauty to it; the ending is the most depressing and yet heartening that i have experienced in cinema. The result is an emotional experience that leaves you all "over the shop" mentally. If you want a thought provoking european style film with the cast and crew that only a major Hollywood studio can get their hands on, here it is.
Whatever the mass audience may say and however hard it may be to realise your ideas, Terry, keep making the movies.