Brazil, 1985

Brazil directed by Terry Gilliam boasts an all star cast, and portrays a dystopic future controlled by a cruel and bureaucratic totalitarian state, Jonathon Pryce plays the protagonist whose only escape from the monotony of his life are his surreal day dreams, until he falls in love with a woman wanted by the state for acts of terrorism, together they attempt to escape the restrictions of the oppressive society but the line between dream and reality is un-clear and the dream of freedom turns out to be a mere fantasy. I particularly enjoyed the aesthetics of the film, Gilliam clearly has an eye for the most striking of images, and he is able to use scenes of urban decay in London combined with careful selection of costume and props to create a retro future somewhat reminiscent of the film noir era. The basic concept is superb, essentially a comedy version of Orwell's 1984. There is some very cutting social commentary, aimed not just at the dangers of a totalitarian state but also of the culture of bureaucracy and the vanity of ageing women. The end of the film is particularly moving, when the protagonist's dreams of love and freedom are revealed to be an illusion and he is shown to have been tortured to insanity by a man who had previously been an old friend. This ending is shocking and slightly depressing, there is no redeeming element to the storyline, it merely illuminates the dangers of a 'Big Brother' state, the film suffers somewhat from a lack of characterisation, although well cast and well scripted, some of the character motivation is lacking, particularly in the love story, which seems as much fantasy as the visually stunning dream sequences showing Pryce flying with angel's wings and battling fearsome monsters led by a beast resembling a samurai version of Genghis Kahn.

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As a rule, I support the idea of artists being allowed to create their own works as they see fit without ever having to compromise their vision just to sell tickets, but some directors really do need to be reined in sometimes, and Terry Gilliam is all of them. Looking over his entire body of work, it's a wonder his 12 Monkeys ended up being as coherent as it did. Gilliam is full of these brilliantly wacky ideas to put on film, but he seldom ever places them on a solid foundation. Brazil is the perfect example of this. You watch it, or rather marvel at it, hoping that some sort of cohesive narrative will emerge from all the visual mayhem, but one never does. The themes addressed in it are valid, but hardly innovative. It's basically just 1984 with a twisted sense of humor. The whole thing is such a waste of some impressive cinematography. If it's quirkiness you want, I recommend the Coen brothers - equally amazing cinematography without all the confusion.

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