Despite his grim and drab surroundings, (gray and depressing), Sam Lowry (Pryce) escapes through his dreams. By day, Sam works for the government in an endless loop of meaningless paperwork. In his dreams, he is a winged hero soaring through the clouds and saving the ethereal woman of his dreams.
His well-connected mother, Ida (Helmond), wants Sam to have an executive job. In between her various plastic surgeries, she gets Sam a promotion. He prefers to stay out of the spotlight, and tries to turn down the job, but an unexpected complication changes his answer...
When a spelling error (caused by a dead fly smeared on the page) causes the wrong man to be imprisoned, Sam sees the woman haunting his dreams, Jill (Greist). To get close to her, he accepts the promotion from his father's friend Mr. Helpman (Vaughn). He gets a tiny new office and many "something for an executive" gifts. He uses his new connections and an old friend, Jack (Palin) to find and rescue Jill. Will his life reflect his dreams: saving the beautiful woman from an unseen force, or will Sam get lost in the paperwork.
"You got the wrong man"
"Information Transit got the wrong man. I got the right man. The wrong one was delivered to me as the right man, and I accepted him on good faith, as the right man. Was I wrong?"
This is one of those films that gets better with time... The first time I watched this film, for a class, I didn't know what happened. After several more viewings, reading blogs / movie reviews, and writing a paper about it, I can finally appreciate the mastery of Terry Gilliam. The man is amazing... but I digress.
The cast, sets, costumes (for the fantasy scenes especially), and script are stellar. The script is relatively basic (with a fantasy / dream sequence interspersed throughout the narrative, basically mirroring the main narrating), while simultaneously exploring deeper themes and making references to George Orwell's 1984. While there are funny moments and situations, the general tone is serious.
The role of Sam was tailored for Jonathan Pryce (the character was initially written as a younger man, but Gilliam wanted Pryce for the part), and he rises to the challenge of being a leading man. But the supporting cast are the real reason to watch. Michael Palin, in his 5th Terry Gilliam film, plays a serious character instead of a caricature that you laugh at/with, and once again delivers a memorable performance. Robert De Niro is the reclusive heating engineer, he works freelance and doesn't complete paperwork, Harry Tuttle. Despite only appearing in a few scenes, his character is mentioned throughout the film, and is also memorable. The entire supporting cast, regardless the size of the part, creates quirky but somewhat believeable characters.
Not for everyone, but a "must-see" for Gilliam fans and film students!
Brazil (1985) 142 minutes
Rating: R for some strong violence
Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Jonathan Pryce as Sam Lowry
Robert De Niro as Harry Tuttle
Katherine Helmond as Ida Lowry
Ian Holm as Mr. M. Kurtzmann
Bob Hoskins as Spoor
Michael Palin as Jack Lint
Ian Richardson as Mr. Warrenn
Peter Vaughan as Mr. Helpmann
Kim Greist as Jill Layton
His well-connected mother, Ida (Helmond), wants Sam to have an executive job. In between her various plastic surgeries, she gets Sam a promotion. He prefers to stay out of the spotlight, and tries to turn down the job, but an unexpected complication changes his answer...
When a spelling error (caused by a dead fly smeared on the page) causes the wrong man to be imprisoned, Sam sees the woman haunting his dreams, Jill (Greist). To get close to her, he accepts the promotion from his father's friend Mr. Helpman (Vaughn). He gets a tiny new office and many "something for an executive" gifts. He uses his new connections and an old friend, Jack (Palin) to find and rescue Jill. Will his life reflect his dreams: saving the beautiful woman from an unseen force, or will Sam get lost in the paperwork.
"Information Transit got the wrong man. I got the right man. The wrong one was delivered to me as the right man, and I accepted him on good faith, as the right man. Was I wrong?"
This is one of those films that gets better with time... The first time I watched this film, for a class, I didn't know what happened. After several more viewings, reading blogs / movie reviews, and writing a paper about it, I can finally appreciate the mastery of Terry Gilliam. The man is amazing... but I digress.
The cast, sets, costumes (for the fantasy scenes especially), and script are stellar. The script is relatively basic (with a fantasy / dream sequence interspersed throughout the narrative, basically mirroring the main narrating), while simultaneously exploring deeper themes and making references to George Orwell's 1984. While there are funny moments and situations, the general tone is serious.
The role of Sam was tailored for Jonathan Pryce (the character was initially written as a younger man, but Gilliam wanted Pryce for the part), and he rises to the challenge of being a leading man. But the supporting cast are the real reason to watch. Michael Palin, in his 5th Terry Gilliam film, plays a serious character instead of a caricature that you laugh at/with, and once again delivers a memorable performance. Robert De Niro is the reclusive heating engineer, he works freelance and doesn't complete paperwork, Harry Tuttle. Despite only appearing in a few scenes, his character is mentioned throughout the film, and is also memorable. The entire supporting cast, regardless the size of the part, creates quirky but somewhat believeable characters.
Not for everyone, but a "must-see" for Gilliam fans and film students!
Brazil (1985) 142 minutes
Rating: R for some strong violence
Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Jonathan Pryce as Sam Lowry
Robert De Niro as Harry Tuttle
Katherine Helmond as Ida Lowry
Ian Holm as Mr. M. Kurtzmann
Bob Hoskins as Spoor
Michael Palin as Jack Lint
Ian Richardson as Mr. Warrenn
Peter Vaughan as Mr. Helpmann
Kim Greist as Jill Layton
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