X
- 2014
- R
- Amplify
- 1 h 47 m
- 2014
- R
- Amplify
- 1 h 47 m
Summary Qohen (Christoph Waltz), an eccentric and reclusive computer genius living in isolation, obsessively works on a mysterious project personally delegated to him by Management (Matt Damon) aimed at discovering the meaning of life – or the complete lack of one—once and for all. Increasingly disturbed by visits from people he doesn’t fully tr...
Directed By: Terry Gilliam
Written By: Pat Rushin, Terry Gilliam
- 2014
- R
- Amplify
- 1 h 47 m
- 2014
- R
- Amplify
- 1 h 47 m
The Zero Theorem
50
6.6
Where to Watch
Summary Qohen (Christoph Waltz), an eccentric and reclusive computer genius living in isolation, obsessively works on a mysterious project personally delegated to him by Management (Matt Damon) aimed at discovering the meaning of life – or the complete lack of one—once and for all. Increasingly disturbed by visits from people he doesn’t fully tr...
Directed By: Terry Gilliam
Written By: Pat Rushin, Terry Gilliam
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or average
Based on 28 Critic Reviews
50
29% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
54% Mixed
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
18% Negative
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or average
Based on 28 Critic Reviews
50
29% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
54% Mixed
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
18% Negative
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
The future as candy-coloured paranoid nightmare: not quite Gilliam’s best, but still the most satisfying movie he’s made for years.
No matter how feverishly Gilliam directs and no matter how enthusiastically his actors act, the whole thing remains too, er, theoretical.
User Score
Generally favorable
Based on 60 User Ratings
6.6
55% Positive
33 Ratings
33 Ratings
33% Mixed
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
12% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
User Score
Generally favorable
Based on 60 User Ratings
6.6
55% Positive
33 Ratings
33 Ratings
33% Mixed
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
12% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
This film is living proof that almost every individual is idiot by measure of current state of science (look how much critics did not even understand its meaning).
If you don't know basics like group theory, differential geometry, partial differential equations, variational calculus and some more, you are just casual and useless. Main hero is not casual. Most humans don't even understand how it hurts to be genius. By definition genius is someone who transferred his own tragedy into science light. This is most pure transfusion of all.
After all, ask Grisha Perelman about what is to be first of all minds.
Report
[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
Report
Even as Mr. Gilliam assails the tedium and pointlessness of Qohen’s existence, The Zero Theorem succumbs to those forces, spinning its wheels and repeating its jokes in a manic frenzy that is never as funny or as mind-blowing as it wants to be.
It’s anarchic, sometimes amusing, intermittently tedious, with ideas about digital alienation and the corruption of technology that too often feel blunt and tired.
If only this imaginative environment were populated with a single compelling character or stimulating idea, rather than serving as busy distraction from the narrative tedium.
Another project whose narrative gets swallowed by its design.
Zero is more of an intellectual exercise in which you’re never given all the variables to solve the problem — and then you find your calculator was on acid the whole time anyway.
This movie is a huge allusion on our modern society and our place in it. At first The Zero Theorem seems like a bright and quirky mess, but later you can just start seeing yourself in Christoph Waltz's characters: you do not get why should you go to the office to work, you feel like your life has no meaning, you have lost contatc with other people and along with that you just forget that you still have a life to live and enjoy. I can't understand why the score is so low.
Report
This is Gilliam unleashed, and it is quite the visual spectacle, however at times it lacks a certain cohesiveness amongst the chaos, putting it below his best works like Brazil and 12 Monkeys, but it is still a massively enjoyable film with a superb central performance from Christoph Waltz.
Report
"Brazil" lite. Well made and acted, but you feel as if you've seen it before. The story is slight and the plot an inconvenience, throw in a large sense of "12 Monkeys" and it's Gilliam by numbers. Still more interesting than most films, though. Worth it if you're a die hard Gilliam fan.
Report
A gamer and his scientific goal.
Honestly, this is the first film from Terry Gilliam I did not enjoy. I feel very bad to rate such a low for his film. Literally, there was no story in it. Just a confused character and the events surround him unfolds in a weird way. The characters, settings, I thought it had potential. Visually, it was the same Terry Gilliam style film, but the screenplay failed to have impressive developments. Nonetheless, Christopher Waltz was so good.
It is being more a gamer's tale is what turned down. Seeing the title, I anticipated something brilliant or mind-bender. Though most of the film it was the main character who hold the joystick and try to achieve a scientific goal. The Melanie Thierry part was good. Brought some cheers, but did not end properly. The film did not fare well among the film goers. Mostly a mixed response. But I think it was a below average, especially coming from such a great director.
3/10
Report
When you watch a Terry Gilliam film, you should expect for there to be a fair amount of weirdness. When you add Science Fiction to the mix, there is the possibility that anything can happen. With this in mind, I was really excited to see The Zero Theorem, and what I got was simply one of the worst films I have ever seen! Qohen Leth (Christoph Waltz) is a computer genius, who has been assigned by Management to discover the meaning of life. He does this alone in an old abandoned church. This movie made absolutely no sense to the point where I don't even know how the hell to describe it in any way that would do it justice. Waltz is running around like a madman the entire time, talking so fast, with that accent, that he's impossible to understand. He meets Tilda Swinton at some type of party, and she keeps showing up for some unknown reason, personally I just think it's because she's weird and she likes being in weird movies. Waltz has all these odd computer programs, strange characters he interacts with and talks non-sense with, all in a film that moves faster than his internet connection. I really just didn't understand a thing that was going on and watching it a number of times or doing any amount of any drug in the world wouldn't change that. How is a solitary man playing strange computer games supposed to discover the meaning of life? Who are all these people who keep showing up? What in the hell are they talking about, and what does anything have to do with anything? I'm not entirely sure that another person on this planet besides Terry Gilliam understands what was going on in this film. All I know is that no one should have ever been exposed to whatever this nightmare was intended to be.
Report
Production Company
Voltage Pictures,
Asia & Europe Productions,
Zanuck Independent,
Zephyr Films,
Media Pro Pictures,
Le Pacte,
Wild Side Films,
Picture Perfect Corporation,
Film Capital Europe Funds (FCEF )
Release Date Sep 19, 2014
Duration 1 h 47 m
Rating R
Tagline Nothing is everything.
Awards
Venice Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Yoga Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Austin Fantastic Fest
• 1 Nomination
