Terry Gilliam's "The Zero Theorem" Trailer

Terry Gilliam returns with Zero Theorem, a compelling looking scifi feature that looks like it's straight out of a bygone era of truly unconventional features. The colorful art direction especially beckons to movies like 12 Monkeys (Also directed by Gilliam) and The Fifth Element, although I'm hoping that the story will be a little more cohesive considering his misfire with his last feature in 2009, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Just based off the trailer, it does seem like The Zero Theorem will be densely packed with a goulash of social and existential commentary set in a dystopian environment.



Qohen Leth is an eccentric and reclusive computer genius who lives in an Orwellian corporate world and suffers from existential angst. He waits for a phone call explaining the meaning of life. Under the instruction of a shadowy figure known only as 'Management,' Qohen works to solve the 'Zero Theorem,' a mathematical formula derived from Big Crunch theory.

The fate of the universe as a black hole singularity is purported to show that life has no purpose. Qohen’s work in the burnt-out chapel that serves as his home is interrupted by visits from Bainsley, a seductive woman, and Bob, the teenage son of Management.