The neat thing about time travel is that the scientists potentially had years to perfect their aim. It only seems like minutes for the people who are in this time.
Also note that the Scientist on the plane and Jose were both much more lucid than any of the previous travelers. This suggests that the scientists really stepped up their work on the technology after Cole left the message at the airport.
There’s no indication that they were **ever **“spot on accurate.” They have the ability to send people back in time. Once Cole leaves the message from the airport, they could have sent the scientist to *any *point before then and she would just have to be at the airport on that day and get on that flight.
The vagrant is another time traveler and is in the cell next to Cole. That’s how he knew it was in his tooth. We, and Cole, are going backwards to the vagrant. Cole’s first meeting with him in the alley is actually the second time they met, from the vagrant’s perspective. He recognizes Cole from the future, and realized he must also be a time traveler.
It has been a few years since I’ve last seen it*, though, so I might be mis-remembering, but that seems like a good enough explanation to me.
Either that, or Cole really is a little bit crazy, but time travel is still real (no reason it’s can’t be both, right?)
*Adds to Netflix queue
It’s definitely a bit of both. The scientists even say that time travel scrambles the brain a bit. That’s why they were using convicts.
Anyone know?
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…BTW, was it a given that Dr. Peters would die during his mission? Or was he himself immune to the plague? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this movie.
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I think that’s why he had so many countries in so few days in his itinerary. He wanted to expose as many people to the virus in as many places as possible before he himself got sick and died.
Rewatched it last night for the first time in about 5 years.
Good point, never thought of that. Cole even asks Jose “Why don’t you shoot him”, and he responds that he doesn’t know what he looks like.
I think they intended to develop a cure while staying in power, so they would just let things go as they did originally, just bring back a sample .
His buddy Jose was standing next to him when Dr Railly came running up screaming about Dr Peters. Plus there were other agents around who I’m sure saw the scene at the security gate.
NO, I think he’s just a victim of the “Branjolina” fame machine. Every once in a while, I see him in something like 12 Monkeys or Fight Club or even Burn After Reading, and I say “Wow, I forgot he can actually ACT!”
Last night I’m in my hotel, about to go to sleep and turn to HBO. 12 Monkeys comes on and I notice in the title credits that it’s “inspired by La jetée”. Has anyone here every seen the original inspiration, which I’ve learned is a short French Sci Fi film from 1963? It’s about 28 minutes long and is available on Netflix to watch instantly or as a DVD combined with another film, Sans Soleil. Sans Soleil is from 1983:
Yes, I’ve seen it, and I liked it very much! It’s a series of still images, I don’t believe there is any moving footage at all in the film. I saw it in a film class in college so I don’t remember all the details, but the plot is basically a simpler version of “12 Monkeys,” a man is sent back in time because humanity has been all but wiped out, and is plagued by memories he had as a child of watching a man & woman on a pier, which of course end up being himself and the woman he falls in love with.
It’s a very haunting film, and one that I definitely recommend, especially if you’re a fan of “12 Monkeys.”
Both of those movies are great, as well as the few other Chris Marker films I’ve seen. However, while the inspiration for 12 Monkeys can definitely be seen in that movie, some of my favourite things from 12 Monkeys are compleatly original (like the inspired casting, the use of Astor Piazzolla music, the WWI scene, etc.)
I rewatched it for the first time in ten years. One thing that is strange, plot-vise, is:
David Morse when asked to show his virus vials at the airport, at the end, seems to imply that the virus spreads fast, real fast in the air. Morse even looks at the roof of the airport, which would tend to mean it may have reached as high as the roof in a few minutes, if not instants. Yet, Cole as a kid is just a few metres away from where David morse releases the virus. When Morse does that actually, you have the feeling everyone in the airport is condemned. How the fuck did Bruce Willis/Cole survived the virus when he was a kid, when he looks like one of the very first persons infected?
La Jetee is definitively a must see, it’s only still images yet the story unfolds really well. And is basically, the plot of 12 Monkeys.
It’s available on YouTube, with or without subtitles.
Happily seconded. I could’ve written this myself.
Not everyone dies in an outbreak. Even in an outbreak of something like Ebola Zaire, you’ll have like a 10% survival rate. Cole probably got sick, but was “lucky” enough to survive.
Really? I can’t think of a single movie with Brad Pitt I didn’t like. It’s sort of gay for a guy to be like “I’m a Brad Pitt fan”. But Se7en, Fight Club, Legends of the Fall, A River Runs Through It, Snatch, Inglourious Basterds, Spy Game, Oceans Eleven, Burn After Reading. All great films. Maybe The Mexican was sort of lame.
If this is the case, he is resistant to the virus. Hell, if there’s ten per cent survivors, they can venture outside and dont need all the special measures they take to go out. You could probably use the excuse of a mutated form but:
1-if he was resistant to even the original strain, it should be mentioned in the story, just for story consistency sake
2-I dont know how viruses work, but I guess if your survive an attack by the original strain you wouldnt fall to its further mutations.
Ebola Zaire is not the best example of a cataclysmic virus. Its extreme virulency prevents it from spreading. Apparently, in 12 Monkeys, the virus is deadly but doesnt kill you right away. Just infect you with something incurable but that can use you as a host to propagate. It is said in the movie that the very first cases of infection were reported early October if I recall. And thus the scientists think the virus was spread two weeks before. So virus takes a little time to get spotted in people.
I agree. I think only the people who had relatively close contact with the security guy were immediately exposed. And given that there was this dramatic gunfire incident right near young James, his parents probably escorted him very very quickly out of the airport and may have even been slightly overprotective of him for awhile after that.
It’s also quite possible that although the security guy got sick from being directly exposed, that he himself did not become contagious until he was symptomatic, and that the rest of the sample dispersed too much to infect anyone else who didn’t come into contact with the guard until after he got sick.
hi, i just watched this film on tv after watching it once before many many years ago, and i am wondering about the end, what i have not seen anywhere is this possiblity.
when he is shot at the end the lady is looking for the younger boy, when she see him see smiles, so maybe she tells the kid who too look for in his future, as the next clip is him looking up at the plane carrying the guy in yellow jacket, so he must know something.
this way in his future, he will go straight to the guy and do whatever to stop the spread of the virus.
that works for me anyway