The Zero Theorem

The Zero Theorem

Hacker Koet Leth, a resident of the London of the near future, has been struggling for a long time to understand and penetrate the ocean of the surrounding world, into which he was thrown at birth. Life, what is it, why is it for us, for him and in general. Management, which is everything and everywhere, deals with this issue together with him, but already for its own purposes. To prevent the existential quest of the recluse Let, the Management sends its agent to him, a young girl whose task is to stir up Koet, distract him, lead him away from the truth. He falls not only into a labyrinth of new sensations that are alien to him, but he gets confused in himself and his aspirations even more. Read more The first version of the script for the film was written within ten days. Screenwriter Pat Rushin wrote 145 pages in which he wondered about the value of life and its meaning. His work was inspired by the book "Ecclesiastes", a biblical book that was included among the books of Solomon. At the same time, the author initially kept in mind the general direction of Gilliam's film "Brazil". Gilliam himself says that "The Zero Theorem" was part of a kind of "Orwellian triptych" trilogy, which also included "Brazil" and "12 Monkeys". The premiere took place within the framework of the 70th International Cannes Film Festival. Filming began in October 2012 and lasted about 36 days, although Terry Gilliam was ready to start production as early as 2009. However, at that time the main difficulties revolved around the performer of the main male role. Billy Bob Thornton dropped out of the project because he suffers from a phobia of antiques, which prevented him from working in London. The very first candidate proposed by the producers was Ewan McGregor. As always, while working on The Zero Theorem, the director was haunted by his usual problems. In particular, one of them was the eternal question of funds, because the budget was quite modest.