Brazil Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: Brazil
Year: 1985
Director: Terry Gilliam
Country: UK
Language: English

The well known animosity between Brazil director Terry Gilliam and distributor Universal almost mimics the Marxist themes prevalent throughout the film. Universal wanted to severely alter Gilliam's vision by insisting that many cuts were to be made and a "happy" ending replace the more cynical one. Gilliam fought the system and ultimately resisted Universal's wishes, making Brazil a near-political cause. 

Sam Lowry (Jonathon Pryce) is a harried technocrat in a futuristic society that is needlessly convoluted and inefficient. When trying to correct an administrative error he unwittingly becomes an enemy of the state.

Made in 1984, in parallel with the famous George Orwell novel, Brazil is set in the not too distant future. Our main character lives in a realistic, yet incredibly oppressive state that combines the worst features of Stalinist Russia, 50's American paranoia and 40's British Bureaucracy. While Orwell's state was horribly efficient, Gilliam's UK is horribly inefficient. The oppression his characters go through is due to the fact that the society doesn't even work. 

Gilliam's fantastical setting can only be escaped by an even more fantastical setting. Lowry often dreams of being an angelic superhero knight, attempting to save his love from very python-esque monsters. Though Brazil can seem quite silly, it is perhaps Gilliam's most dramatically engaging film. It uses the combination of black humor, bizarre characters and remarkable sets in order to produce a very fact-based depiction of a terrible regime. Brazil is absurd, but possible.

In conclusion, Brazil is among the greatest British films ever made. Its depiction of a not-to-distant future is as haunting as it is humorous. I for one, am glad that Gilliam was able to overcome Universal's decision to cut the film, because the "dark" ending is more honest despite being more painful. Praise it! 5/5