Zeros and Ones

Zeros and Ones

Called to Rome to stop an imminent terrorist bombing, a soldier desperately seeks news of his imprisoned brother — a rebel with knowledge that could thwart the attack. Navigating the capital's darkened streets, he races to a series of ominous encounters to keep the Vatican from being blown to bits.

  • Released: 2021-11-18
  • Runtime: 85 minutes
  • Genre: Thrillers, War
  • Stars: Ethan Hawke, Cristina Chiriac, Phil Neilson, Anna Ferrara, Salvatore Ruocco, Valerio Mastandrea, Babak Karimi, Dounia Sichov, Valeria Correale, Korlan Rachmetova, Mahmut Sifa Erkaya, Stephen Gurewitz, Carla Cassola, Simone Gandolfo
  • Director: Abel Ferrara
 Comments
  • pasugarman - 3 February 2024
    Not your normal movie, so 7/10
    Intriguing, but without actual plotted intrigue

    A series of cheaply-made and dingy scenes, shot in Rome, evoke modern paranoia in chaotic droves, pandemic, martial law, clash of cultures, corruption, gangsters, drugs, psychedelia, prostitution, paramilitaries, digital surveillance, terrorism, end times, hate, flippancy, religion, fanaticism, politics, sex, love, family, twins (doppelgangers), und so forth, ad nauseam, c'est la vie, and life and kids in the park and eating and drinking and then sunshine and blue skies

    There is no storyline, logic, or much character backstory, it is darkness, cinematic atmosphere a la noir, with, did I mention, vertigo, drones, guns, nuclear war. Europe, America, Islam, exotica, profanity, more bombs. Life, depression, death, always on screen, somewhere, rhythmic, haunted soundtrack

    Although well acted, with conviction, it cannot be recommended for neurotypicals, or anybody who needs to know WTF is actually going on, or anybody who likes to find in fiction a modicum of relief or escape

    Look out for the jokes (just kidding), as Ethan Hawke bookends this petit dejeuner de chien, with philosophical commentary clips, in a amusingly and buttock-clenchingly flowerpowered monologue to camera.
  • Fiercesome_Fool - 24 April 2023
    A sight to behold
    I saw that this had very poor ratings so I just had to watch it. Well the people are definitely right on this one. Watching this mess of a movie left me wondering how in the hell did this get made. An experienced director and experienced leading actor made a complete stinker. This movie is not funny bad, it is boring bad which is the absolute worst thing to be.

    Ferrara filmed this movie in hideous fashion. It is a series of poorly lit, out of focus and shaky cam featuring Ethan Hawke as a soldier who talks with a gravely voice and enjoying long bouts of silence. I kid you not half way into the movie and I barely had a clue what the actual plot of this dribble was.

    Maybe covid is partly to blame for this mess? The movie is filled with people wearing masks and using hand sanitizer to make sure you know there is a pandemic.

    It is bad but I almost want to encourage people to watch this because it truly is surreal how this could have been made unironically.
  • jrstubbins - 9 October 2022
    Incomprehensible Rubbish
    I can't believe audiences can be treated with such disdain. This is a jumble of dark, often out of focus, images roughly sewn together in a failed effort to provide some sort of narrative. Maybe Ethan Hawke saw this as simply a means to turn a cheap buck? I don't know, but whatever his motivation was this particular effort is a total waste of time for the audience who quite reasonably could have expected much much more.

    Was there a plot? Maybe. But it's lost in the dark and confusing cinematography which, more often than not, feels like it's been filmed on an iPhone.

    Quite possibly the worst movie I have ever seen. Do yourself a favour - avoid it.
  • gxzkmhcvm - 7 May 2022
    Perhaps the title gives insight into the average rating
    Well I gave it a two but mostly based on Ethans introduction. I couldn't finish it though. My retinas became intensely irritated and needed a visual break. Don't worry I'm fine now. Movies been removed from my recommendation. No more triggers. Peace.
  • mayfieldhj - 2 February 2022
    DIsjointed images, Confusing and waste of time
    Finally gave up about half way into movie after long string of profanity. If I hadn't read the synopsis I would have no idea what was going on and even then the movie didn't match. There is a reason Ethan Hawke had to explain what characters he was playing, you wouldn't have figured it out otherwise. No idea why it was compared to the world in 2020, unless it is becuase it gives you a painful headache to piece together fragmented imagery. Please don't waste your time watching.