Twelve Monkeys

Time travel between madness and reality

In Twelve Monkeys (1995), Bruce Willis plays prisoner James Cole, who is sent back from 2035 to 1996. The goal: to track down a deadly virus before it breaks out and wipes out 99 percent of humanity. Once in the past, Cole ends up in a psychiatric institution, where the line between sanity and madness blurs. Director Terry Gilliam creates a world in which you, as a viewer, are constantly doubting what is real.

Brad Pitt and an animal rights organization

Opposite Willis is a young, exuberant Brad Pitt as the unpredictable Jeffrey Goines. His character is linked to a mysterious animal rights organization — the so-called Twelve Monkeys. The film cleverly plays with paranoia, time loops, and the question of whether the future can still be changed.

Based on a French classic

Twelve Monkeys is based on the short French film La jetée (1963) by Chris Marker. That film tells the story of a man who travels through time after the Third World War using black-and-white photographs. Gilliam translates this minimalist experiment into an immersive feature film without losing the dark tone of the original.

See Twelve Monkeys at Lab111

Are you interested in this film? Lab111 in Amsterdam is screening Twelve Monkeys at several times. Use the link for tickets to reserve your spot.