“I’m learning to value time, that’s all I have left.” Twelve Zero One Midnight, United States, 1993
An ordinary clerk-loser, who has a very boring life, suddenly finds himself in the thick of unusual, exciting events that force him to transform right before his eyes, because he catastrophically lacks time. There's only one day left. The main character, day after day experiencing the same day, turns from lazy and sloppy into a person who paints the day simply by minutes. The lives of his friends and his own depend on it.
The film refers to stories related to temporal paradoxes. It is often compared to Groundhog Day, although in my opinion, apart from a few similar scenes, the two films have nothing in common. In Groundhog Day, the reason for the “time loop” is completely irrelevant. The emphasis is on the inner experiences and self-improvement of the protagonist. And 12:01 is all about looking for the external cause that led to the time stuck. Existential and, moreover, philosophical meaning is completely absent here. The human, that is, existential, line in the film is the most American. They have just tried to kill people, and at least they are hens; psychologically this does not affect them in any way: they calmly admire nature, kiss and rest.
The plot tension is achieved due to a good detective line.
From the influences, I think, there are motives "Back to the future."
What I liked:
- a good amount of irony in the film (in particular, the heroine likes the duet "Carpenters", canaries, etc.) ).
It is a well-designed robot watch.
I like the idea of counting the day literally by minutes to understand exactly what is happening.
The movie, of course, is a pass. But you can see it.
For a good storyline and comedy bias,
7 out of 10