Maiming a sci-fi classic

Rating: Null/10 (25 February 1999)

One of my favorite films of all time is Chris Marker's LA JETTE. In half an hour and in french, that one movie did more to refine my ideas and understanding of science fiction than almost anything else to date has. This, of course, colored my view of Terry Gilliam's very disappointing 12 Monkeys. I have to say that for anyone who can sit down and watch both films, there is little room for comparison. The script for 12 Monkeys was surprisingly good, but what ruined it was the way that Terry Gilliam handled it.
Usually, Gilliam's parabolic treatment and direction fits in well with silly or comic works like "Time Bandits", "Brazil", "The Fisher King". These are all films that I really love, but what I don't understand is how Gilliam's direction in the film is how he never bothered to try and make the audience believe that the protagonist might actually be imagining any of his experience, which is what the script is all about. Gilliam seems more interested in the visual gadgets and silly images he can create- like the gigantic, ridiculous ball that the scientists question him through, or the dizzying views of a mental hospital, seen through a fisheye lens. One of the most important moments- when Bruce Willis bursts in on a patient entering an MRI machine that looks strangely like the time travel device he entered- falls completely flat, since it is shot in a completely subdued, flattened manner. Gilliam must have dropped his fisheye lens on the floor.
For anyone even vaguely intrigued by 12 Monkeys (as I most likely would have been, had I not seen LA JETTE), please do check out LA JETTE at your local video store (yes, even Blockbuster Video has it). The only criticism that anyone can have of it is that it moves a little slow, but I strongly believe that you'll be pleasantly surprised.