Starring a futuristically bald Christoph Waltz, whose career arc is becoming the envy of every serious film actor, The Zero Theorem concerns a poor computer hacker set to an impossible task (making a nonzero number equal zero, as in a wonderful short story by Ted Chiang). Of course, he’ll also have to contend with what looks to be Gilliam’s most frighteningly gaudy dystopia since Brazil itself.

 

Yesterday a trailer for the film found its way on line, curiously ending not with a release date but the words “In Post-Production,” suggesting that the footage was a bit premature—indeed, shortly afterward, the clip was taken down. But we know this will be a hyperkinetic triumph for the only director who can render this absurd world as the living cartoon it is. A supporting cast including Tilda Swinton, Matt Damon and Melanie Thierry ought to help. For now, here’s some guerilla footage of the making of a street scene.