I'm cheating a little here. Despite this film being titled Brazil, it is an English language film and has nothing whatsoever to do with the country Brazil. It is, at least, a "foreign film" from the U.S. perspective, having been made in the U.K. It's director, Terry Gilliam, was American born, but is something of a transplant to Britain. He was the one and only American member of the Monty Python troupe that kept the English (and others) rolling on the floor through a seven-year television run and subsequent feature films.

Historical Background: Terry Gilliam was born on November 22nd, 1940, in Minneapolis, MN. He took his degree from Occidental College in political science before taking work as a writer and an illustrator for various magazines and advertising outfits. Gilliam then moved to London to work with the BBC and was soon teaming up with a group of Brits composed of John Cleese, Terry Jones, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, and Eric Idle for the television show Monty Python's Flying Circus, which ran from 1969 until 1976 and was known for its zany and outrageous antics. Gilliam played an integral role in the Monty Python troupe's forays into feature films, beginning with And Now for Something Completely Different (1972), and followed by Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). Gilliam was especially central to the surreal animation sequences utilized in the television series. Gilliam began to strike out on his own with Jabberwocky (1977) and, more successfully, with Time Bandits (1981), which he directed and co-scripted with Michael Palin. Gilliam then returned to work with the Monty Python group on two additional films. Gilliam had sufficient success with Time Bandits to acquire almost unlimited funding for the production of his next solo film, Brazil (1985). Brazil was well-received in Europe but Gilliam then got into a protracted battle with Universal, when the studio insisted that the film be trimmed for the American release (see the further discussion of this controversy in the "Bottom-Line" section at the end of this review). Gilliam's favorite theme is the relationship between fantasy and reality. Since 1985, his films have included The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989), The Fisher King (1991), Twelve Monkeys (1995), and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998),

The Story: When the carcass of a swatted fly inconveniently lands on an arrest warrant that is being processed, Mr. Buttle (Brian Miller), a quiet, feckless man, is dramatically arrested instead of Harry Tuttle (Robert De Niro), a renowned terrorist. Everything, in this twentieth century dystopian society – location unknown – is done strictly by the book. The helmeted police break in through the ceiling of Buttle's apartment where he is spending a quiet Christmas Eve with his family, quickly harness him in a hooded straightjacket, and cart him away, leaving his stunned wife with just a receipt for her husband – and a receipt for the receipt.

In the Ministry of Information, our film's protagonist, Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce), a low-level functionary, discovers the clerical error, but it's too late – Buttle has already been executed. Sam's boss, the nervous and incompetent Mr. Kurtzmann (Ian Holm), is in a tizzy because he has a refund check for Mrs. Buttle, to cover the overpayment for her husband's interrogation and execution, and no way to deliver it. Lowry, who Kurtzmann depends upon to get things done, offers to deliver the refund check in person to Mrs. Buttle.

Sam's mother, Ida (Katherine Helmond), a woman of some social standing, is undergoing a facial makeover with the aid of a plastic surgeon, Dr. Jaffe (Jim Broadbent). She has high hopes for Sam. Sam's father had some clout before his death and Ida uses that clout to get Sam an offer for promotion to the Department of Information Retrieval (read torture). Ida also has a notion to marry Sam off to her friend's daughter, Shirley (Kathryn Pogson), but luckily for Sam, Shirley dislikes him as much as he dislikes her. Sam also has no interest in a promotion. After all, Kurtzmann desperately needs him and his current job also leaves him ample time to escape into his own little private fantasy world.

Sam finds life in this stifling, Kafkaesque world he lives in so little to his liking that he greatly prefers to escape into old movies (like Casablance) and his own highly active imagination. In his fantasies, which typically occur to the accompaniment of an old dance song called "Brazil," he casts himself as a silver-armored, mythic Lohengrin-like winged hero battling huge semi-mechanical monsters and hordes of lost souls, to rescue the girl of his dreams, who floats aloft in a tethered cage. Sometimes, in his dreams, he soars amidst the clouds to his beloved.

At home, Sam is having more mundane troubles with the heating system in his apartment. Nothing works as it should in this over-bureaucratized society because nothing can be fixed without first filling out multiple forms. Sam places an emergency call to Central Services, but cannot get past the automated messages. Soon, however, an armed rogue repairman (i.e., a terrorist, to the authorities), Harry Tuttle (Robert De Niro), shows up at the door. This is the same Harry Tuttle whose arrest warrant led erroneously to the death of Mr. Buttle. Tuttle once worked for Central Services but it had become so bogged down in paperwork that Tuttle had turned terrorist so that he could actually fix things. Tuttle comes and goes like a bit like a superhero, sliding down long cables like Batman or Spiderman. Tuttle opens up the heating ducts in Sam's apartment, revealing a complex meshwork of cables, pipes, and ducts in utter disarray. Tuttle inserts an electronic "patch" that corrects the heating problem. Unfortunately, two agents from Central Services, one named Spoor (Bob Hoskins), suddenly show up and Sam has to think quickly to avoid a shootout between these men and Tuttle. He demands to see the form authorizing them to work on his heating ducts. They have neglected to fill out the forms and have to beat a resentful retreat.

In the process of delivering the refund check to Mrs. Buttle, Sam encounters not only the embittered family, but also the spitting image of the girl of his dreams. She's Jill Layton (Kim Greist), the woman who lives right about the Buttle family's apartment. He chases after her, but she disappears. Layton drives a "taxi," which looks something like a cross between a garbage truck and a 16-wheeler.

Sam decides he'll take the promotion after all, expecting that he'll be able to track down his beloved Ms. Layton if he's assigned to Information Retrieval. A singing messenger, with a musical invitation for Sam to a party as his mother's house, furnishes the opportunity he needs. Sam uses the occasion of the party to hobnob with the head of Information Retrieval, who is an old friend of his mother's, and to reactivate the offer of promotion. Sam shows up for work in his new position and discovers a rather bizarre operation, where twenty or so junior executives follow the boss around wherever he goes and where, he is told, "an empty desk is an efficient desk." In his new office cubicle, which looks roughly like a prison cell, Sam has to engage in a tug-of-war for a share of a desk that straddles two adjacent offices. Sam is finally able to get a lead on the whereabouts of Jill. Sam's old friend, Jack Lint (Michael Palin), also works at Information Retrieval and is basically a skilled administrator of torture. Sam is horrified to discover that Jill is scheduled for arrest and liquidation.

The rest of the story focuses on Sam's effort to find Jill, win her trust, and help her evade capture. He's pitted against his new boss at Information Retrieval, Mr. Warrenn (Ian Richardson), his old friend Jack Lint, and a monolithic system that exists solely for the purpose of imposing order and control. There are multiple psychological twists that you will want to discover for yourself, should you opt to see this marvelous film. There are vehicle chases, explosions, and an amazing assortment of special effects.

Themes: The central theme of Brazil is the same as that of Orwell's 1984, the threat posed to human freedom and dignity by excessive concentration of power in totalitarian regimes. For Americans, this theme is certainly more relevant today than it was in 1985. It is prescient, for example, that the authorities in Brazil use the threat of terrorism and the never-ending war on terrorism as justification for restraints on personal liberties. Checkpoints limit travel from one sector to another, summary arrests and executions are routine, and torture standard practice. The security forces of the state come bursting in through the ceilings to arrest suspected dissidents in their homes. Be forewarned, America! The days of our innocence are over. How many of us would opt out of the world depicted in Brazil and, given no other alternative, choose, instead, escape into fantasies or insanity?

Production Values: Brazil is loosely based on George Orwell's famous novel 1984, presenting a disturbingly bleak alternate vision of the past, present, and future of human civilization. The script is a brilliant melding of inky black comedy with the science fiction action film genre – half Monty Python and half Terminator or Matrix. The film is filled with cynical, satirical one-liners, as when a girl sits down on Santa's lap and asks for "her very own credit card." The credit card theme comes back again when, in a torture scene, Sam is urged to confess quickly so as to not damage his credit rating. There is also a lot of more subtle situational humor. During most of the film, we are shown a society that is preoccupied and inundated with security, to the point of paranoia. When Sam then gets promoted to Information Retrieval, where security ought to be tightest, there is suddenly nothing except a solitary receptionist, who makes no effort to confirm his identify. The contrast between the dark and disconcerting social vision of Brazil and the almost slapstick humor is devastating. Some of the humor is so delightfully silly that it is easy to understand why this film has acquired cult status.

The chief complaint about this film, from the minority of critics who discredit it, relates to the script. It is said to be undisciplined, convoluted, and self-indulgent. Some viewers complain that the storyline is difficult to follow. Certainly, it is a relentlessly fast-paced film. I don't mean to be ageist, here, but I suspect that younger viewers brought up on MTV and video games will have no difficulty with either the pace of this film or following the plot. Even I, a doddering old foggy, had no problem keeping tabs on either the characters or plot. Brazil is an English language film (it was made in the U.K.), but, stylistically, it's far more European in its approach to plot than Hollywood-like. There are times when the viewer has to contribute some logical assumptions in maintaining plot continuity, but not to an extent that is especially challenging.

Brazil is uniformly praised for the magnificence of its sets. I don't recall a film with more fantastic and picturesque interiors. There was clearly a lot of money spent on both sets and special effects. There are twisted arrays of pipes, wires, and ducts, a futuristic mall, bizarre vehicles, labyrinthine bureaucratic departments, Ida's modernistic dwelling, a surreal restaurant, subterranean basements, antiquarian computers, a torture chamber within an amphitheatre, and much, much more. Fumes and liquids seemingly spill out of every pore. Overall, the visuals are breathtaking in their complexity and imaginativeness. The cinematography has a noir feel to it – a little too underlit, at times, for my taste. The score for the film, provided by Michael Kamen, matches the mood of the visuals perfectly.

I can now officially announce that I admire the acting of Jonathan Pryce. I remember him well from Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). His superlative performance in Brazil is essential to the films success. He's got great range in his facial expressiveness. His other work has included The Ploughman's Lunch (1983), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), Carrington (1995), Evita (1996), Ronin (1998), and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). Bob Hoskins was excellent as Spoor and Katherine Helmond as Mrs. Ida Lowry. Helmond has appeared in other films for Gilliam: Time Bandits (1981) and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998). She was also in Family Plot (1976) and Lady in White (1988). Supposedly, Gilliam was not happy with the work of Kim Greist, but I can't see why. I thought her very good in her role. She later worked in Manhunter (1986) and Throw Momma from the Train (1987). Robert De Niro's role was brief, but he did a bang-up job with it. More would have been even better.

Bottom-Line: Despite the success of Brazil in its European release, Gilliam had to battle the head of Universal, Sid Sheinberg, for years, to get an unedited release of the film in America. The showdown is recounted in a book by Jack Matthews entitled The Battle for Brazil (1987). Sheinberg didn't like Gilliam's ending for the film and wanted to impose his own happier one, as well as other cuts. The Los Angeles Film Critics played an instrumental role in Gilliam's campaign to have his film released as he intended it. Gilliam screened his version for the L.A. Critics and they promptly voted it Best Film of the year and Gilliam Best Director. With that endorsement of his work, Gilliam was able to force the release of the film he had made.

I decided to pinch pennies in purchasing this film and bought a single DVD copy from Universal, but it is Gilliam's 143-minute version. There's also a three-DVD version from Criterion that is loaded with extras including both Gilliam's full version and Sheinberg's cut version (at 94 minutes), so viewers can now decide for themselves whether Sheinberg or Gilliam had the best side of the dispute. The vast majority of viewers and critics have concluded that Sheinberg's alternative ending was pretty atrocious. There is also a 137-minute version on the market (the first version to play in the U.S.), in addition to Sheinberg's 94 minute one, so be careful to purchase the full director's cut, whether from Universal or Criterion. The Criterion version also includes a "What is Brazil?" documentary on the making of the film, featuring members of the crew and cast.

This is a fabulous film – full of ingenious novelty and creativity and juiced with heart-pounding energy. I highly recommend it.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older