The Zero Theorem(2013)

[edgitarra]

I have seen this movie last night. It is Terry Gilliam's last movie. Even though I didn't like the movie so much as a whole, it struck me to see so many motives and symbols integrated in the movie. For this I will say, "Bravo Terry".

Half-Spoiler - Select to select to see

It is a colorful movie(design, costumes, sets), that happens in a close future, where everything is ruled by "The Management" which has as a slogan the phrase "Everything is under control", but in a way that makes people more asleep(for example, there was a presenation of futuristic "party", were people were dancing to their own music, being permanently connected to their Iphones and Ipads, their attention being constantly in the phone, while dancing). The main character, Qohen is working in a big corporation called "Mancom", as an entity "crusher", solving all kinds of mathematical problems(as far as I understood). The town presented in the film is full of screens, commercials, everybody trying to sell something, to brain wash people.

The movie starts by Qohen's decision to work from home, waiting for a mysterious phone call(symbolized as the calling of the Real Self), that would tell him the meaning of life, and as he says "We want to stay home" - always mentioning to those around him that humans don't have only one self, but a legion of them(through out all the movie Qohen is reffering to himself as Us). He manages to get to the Management(impersonated by Matt Damon, the Management is thought to be some sort of God which cannot be met, but only in very special circumstances) and he is approved to stay and work at home on a special task: to prove The Zero Theorem. To prove that all is for nothing! To find out what is the reason for human existence.

There are also some sexual(content of nudity) scenes which I didn't really enjoy, but I guess is just marketing to sell more.

But overall, i found the movie interesting.
Link:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2333804/

 

[Buddy]

Well, it seems to me that people who embrace a nihilistic ideology do feel safer exposing their schizophrenia. I think Qohen should hire Leonard Cohen to do dance me to the end of love. I wonder if people would 'get' how cleverly Cohen parodies nihilism (the zero theorem as I understand it) in many of his songs. :)

 

[Scottie]

I found this movie to be severely lacking in all departments. It's the kind of "quasi-artsy" movie where the viewer is left to interpret many things however s/he sees fit. But, what I did "get" from it was this:

The ending that the movie originally had before its release is described by Gilliam as follows:

“Somehow, Bob, the kid, stole his father’s car and arrived [at Qohen’s home],” Gilliam said, describing the original ending. “Qohen got in. Qohen burned down his chapel, and they rode off with fire engine sirens blazing everywhere. They were going to search for Bainsley on one of the islands.”

Instead, they changed the ending and Gilliam says that this original was too Hollywood, and that:

What was important was after the hammering we put Qohen through – there’s a girl who wants to go away with him but he can’t, because he’s too damaged; there’s a boy he can be father-like to, he can help, and that gets taken away from him; everything is taken away from this man – I felt we had to end on a note [where] he has dignity, and you felt that he has some acceptance of the world, rather than fighting, complaining, or running from it. It’s there, and he’s got control of something: the sun, and its setting. It’s a virtual sun, but it’s something.

Right, so, here we have Qohen, who is obviously not playing with a full deck in the beginning, and he's supposed to have MORE dignity and control of "something" by more or less committing suicide and playing with a virtual sun (although this isn't even clear in the movie)... instead of chasing after his love, which is what apparently started bringing him out of his "crazy zone" and into reality in the first place. Say what?!

To me, the whole point is that the original ending would mean he's not living in la-la land any more. By falling into the "black hole computery thing" and then playing with the sun in some kind of virtual world, all alone as usual, he basically gave up! That's not dignified, it's pitiful. He lets himself down, and he certainly lets Bainsley down, and that's supposed to be "dignified" and better somehow?

He wasn't "too damaged" - he was a self-righteous and self-centered ass. He even started saying "I" instead of "We", so clearly he was coming back down to earth via his relationship with Bainsley. This is conveyed both directly and symbolically in the movie.

But then after making the CHOICE not to stay with her (despite her best efforts at being ridiculously understanding of him) he deteriorates again. He was far from perfect, but he refused to allow her to be imperfect. Immediately after making this choice, his whole more sane world falls apart again. That's how the movie presented it.

So, where Gilliam gets this idea of "dignity" from is beyond me.

 

[gdpetti]

Perhaps he's fooling himself? Isn't that rather common, especially near the end when you are looking over your life and seeing so many attempts that turned to failure which makes it all seem futile in the end?
But even to reach that point is something, right? ;) what's that line in 'Contact'? 'Baby steps'... one step/lifetime at a time...

Haven't seen or heard of the film, but FWIW, it seemed that some of their earlier work was too busy, like they tried too hard to insert everything they could think of, which can be a kiss of death in the long term unless it really works, but even then what works is the gag, the punchline, the humor is enjoyed until the audience retires to their usual dissociated state.... next joke please. This is the usual problem when one attempts to 'teach' in the public arts. That "Matrix" film is perhaps the best example of the 'inner/outer' approach that is rarely seen anyway because if the hidden isn't hidden in the open, it usually gets lost in the process.

A computer hacker whose goal is to discover the reason for human existence continually finds his work interrupted thanks to the Management; namely, they send a teenager and lusty love interest to distract him.

[imdb]

From the comments above, it sounds like this hacker didn't reach his goal, didn't find any reason for his own or humanities existence. Is that correct? Interrupted by the Management or STSers through distraction? Is that right?

 

[Scottie]

Haven't seen or heard of the film...

Well, watching the film would be a good first step, IMO. It's generally not a good idea to rely on what other people say about a movie. Maybe you'll see something I missed?

 

[Divide by Zero]

Mr. Scott,
I saw this movie a while back and too was disturbed by the ending. It felt like insanity, like the ending of Pi. I almost thought that the same guy made this movie!

Perhaps the ending was changed to appeal to the Nihilists who are big fans of these kinds of movies (like Pi).

I'm more of a Donnie Darko kind of guy, that ending was sad but it made logical sense if you could wrap your head around time and causality. The ending of The Zero Theorem left nothing to be wondering about, much like Lucy...

 

[Scottie]

Mr. Scott,
I saw this movie a while back and too was disturbed by the ending. It felt like insanity, like the ending of Pi. I almost thought that the same guy made this movie!

Perhaps the ending was changed to appeal to the Nihilists who are big fans of these kinds of movies (like Pi).

I'm more of a Donnie Darko kind of guy, that ending was sad but it made logical sense if you could wrap your head around time and causality. The ending of The Zero Theorem left nothing to be wondering about, much like Lucy...

Yeah, I suppose part of the problem is that it apparently was a nihilist movie. I like Google's definition of nihilism:

Nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. It is often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence. A true nihilist would believe in nothing, have no loyalties, and no purpose other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy.

How can one believe in "nothing" when we obviously exist in "something"? That's like a psychopathic philosophy or something.

 

[DonnieG]

I found the Film to be quite interesting. I thought of it as an abstract view into the psyche. How our mind chooses to intact with stimuli of that which is around us. The idea of existence without purpose, as opposed to having a purpose even if one never knew why, represents pretty much everyone's essential question. Why am I here? Love, the accumulation of material substance, the accumulation of Knowledge. My favorite, which seemed to be the intent of the owner corporation Q worked for, and Q himself. I've always liked all form of Abstractness, art, literature, film, and thought. Without it, no one would think outside of the box. Thus Knowledge would not be gained.