Contagion, 2011 Film Set In Minnesota, Suddenly Has New Relevance

A movie set in Minnesota that came out nearly a decade ago suddenly has new relevance, and it's become a popular film to rewatch this month as a result. "Contagion," a 2011 thriller about a deadly global virus directed by Steven Soderbergh, has eerie similarities to the realities of 2020 as the world grapples with the outbreak of the new Coronavirus, officially called COVID-19.

The movie stars Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Paltrow plays the role of patient zero, and she dies early in the film. Damon plays a Minneapolis-area dad who loses both his step-son and wife to the disease.

Much of the movie is set in the Twin Cities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention works with the Minnesota Department of Health to contain the spread of the virus.

In 2020, Contagion is oddly relatable. In the film, American and global health officials tell concerned citizens many of the same things we are hearing in 2020: don't touch your face, wash your hands, and stay home if you feel sick.

"The average person touches their face two or three thousand times a day," Winslet's character tells the fictional MDH.

The film also shows ransacked stores with bare shelves, not unlike the ones you may have seen recently yourself.

Viewers of Contagion should remind themselves that COVID-19 is nowhere near as deadly as the fiction virus in the movie. However, the film does shine a light on why viruses are so hard to contain globally, and how important it is that citizens follow the guidance of health officials during the outbreaks of serious diseases.

Contagion is available to watch on YouTube TV, Amazon, Hulu, and other streaming services.

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