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Twelve Monkeys

1995 · TMDB 7.6

Directed by Terry Gilliam

In the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to discover the origin of a deadly virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population and forced the survivors into underground communities. But when Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990 instead of 1996, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital. There he meets psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly and the son of a famous virus expert who may hold the key to the Army of the 12 Monkeys; thought to be responsible for unleashing the killer disease.

Why it matters

Gilliam's time-travel dystopia sends a convict from a plague-ravaged future to the present to uncover the origin of the virus that wiped out most of humanity, blurring memory and madness.

From When the World Catches Cold

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