Try to imagine the extraordinary film La Jetée without being avantgarde? 12 Monkeys may well be your answer. Yet this film does not limit itself to the science fiction genre. Its perception of time is surreal, and existential. In a dystopian future, a deadly virus wipes out humanity from the face of the Earth, and prisoner James Cole is sent back in time to investigate the origins of the catastrophe. As he moves back and forth in time, Cole encounters a psychiatrist and a mysterious group known as the “Army of 12 Monkeys.” His relationship with the psychiatrist takes on an obsessive character, even fantastical. However, just as in La Jetée, time here becomes a tool of control: travellers are granted no freedom. No matter how helpless Cole appears, he pursues his lost memories. Time, remembrance, love, and madness intertwine. Against all odds, he sets out to follow moments he never actually lived. The search for love and truth turns into a form of resistance.

Golden Globes 1996

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Brad Pitt)