Terry Gilliam loves to create fantastical worlds, but either because of the technology of the time or a limited budget (which has been his issue in recent years), it’s often felt like he was incredibly constrained but doing really well to create something visually unique with what he had.
Well, if this first clip from Zero Theorem is anything to go by, Gilliam’s brain has been allowed out to create a big, bold world. It’s still familiar as his though, from the which of the past and the future to the slightly strange looking and dress of the people. The clip show us a bald Christoph Waltz wandering through a world that’s been taken over by ads.
Zero Theorem is about an eccentric and reclusive computer genius (Waltz), who is plagued with existential angst while working on a mysterious project aimed at discovering the purpose of existence, or the lack thereof, once and for all. However, it is only once he experiences the power of love and desire that he is able to understand his very reason for being. The story, by Pat Rushin, was partially inspired by Gilliam’s own Brazil, so it’s very apt Terry has taken the project on.
Ben Whishaw, Matt Damon, Tilda Swinton, David Thewlis, Mélanie Thierry, Lucas Hedges and Sanjeev Bhaskar co-star. The film just premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and will hopefully be released fairly soon.