Brazil (1985)

Directed by Terry Gilliam
Written by Terry Gilliam, Tom Stoppard and Charles Mckeown
Produced by Arnon Milchan

Starring

Jonathan Pryce as Sam Lowry
Robert De Niro as Tuttle
Katherine Helmond as Ida Lowry
Ian Holm as Mr 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

Distributed by Universal Studios (America)/Fox Pictures International (UK)

Brief Synopsis

The dropping of a dead fly into a computer causes the wrong man to be imprisoned and killed by the Ministry of Information. Sam Lowry discovers this fact and tries to rectify this mistake by repaying the charges made to the deceased during his capture. While he does this he discovers the girl of his dreams and pursues her. All the while he is having strange dreams which deal with him struggling against a samurai warrior. The Ministry of Information finds out about his investigations and is not happy. While Lowry is with Jill they arrest him on suspicion of harbouring terrorists, Tuttle, and of wasting Ministry time and paper. During Sam's interrogation at the hands of his best friend, Jack Lint, he escapes. After a brief period of wandering around in a dream like state he finds Jill and retires to the countryside. We soon realise that Sam's escape was nothing but a dream and he is still being interrogated by Jack and Mr Helpmann, the deputy head of the Ministry.

'8.29pm. Somewhere in the Twentieth Century'

The beginning of 'Brazil' is unexpected. For it to be so precise on the time of day and still not tell you where and when you are in the 20th century suggests that this could be happening right now or as of the release of the film some time in the future. The lack of any discernible features on the ground means we cannot tell where we are either. This could be anywhere at any time in the 20th century. The close up on the television set does tell us something about the culture, it is technologically advanced and the advert tells us that there is a group known as Central Services which works to keep the populace happy and also that they will try and sell you anything. Later on in the film we learn that it is Christmas time this also shows the capitalist nature of the undetermined country. Suddenly there is an explosion. We learn quickly from a television that was partially destroyed in the blast that the explosion was due to a bomb planted by terrorists. The Minister responsible for telling us, Mr Helpmann, doesn't really give us any reason to doubt him but he doesn't give any reason for the bombings either.
The shift between the destroyed television and the television in an office shows us the pervasion of TV into the workplace and therefore the whole of the culture. We learn later that the television is watched everywhere. The office of the computer technician shows us the lack of human effort in the world. He is sitting playing with an executive toy while the computer industriously spits out names to be investigated by the Ministry of Information. The technicians decision to kill a bug that is annoying him turns out to be the first event that starts first of all the downfall of Archibald Buttle and then Sam Lowry and Jill Layton. The fly becomes a monkeywrench and changes one word in one document from a 't' to a 'b'. This is one of the main themes of the film that of chance and the irresponsibility the system has bred. Jack Lint accidentally kills Buttle because he has not got the correct medical data. He doesn't blame himself and he certainly is not responsible for the death, as it was just a mistake made by the Ministry.
So the country is a capitalist bureaucracy which has no real desire except to keep the terrorists down and maintain the country's situation. The horror of the film stems from this and the people who insist on maintaining the culture even at the expense of friendships, love and trust.

Sam's Capture and Jill's Death

It is at this point that we realise the true nature of the regime Sam lives in. He is arrested and taken to a series of rooms where he is first of all charged with several dozen offences, the most grave seeming to be wasting ministry time and paper. The rest of the rooms are filled with people wanting to know how much he wants to borrow to pay for his defence. They explain that everything has to be paid for including Sam's torture so he should really plead guilty to a few offences and try to pay for defence on the rest. A prolonged trial would jeopardise his credit rating, Sam is told.
Sam's subsequent meeting with Mr Helpmann is equally bizarre. Mr Helpmann is dressed as Santa Claus and his happy smiling face beams down on Sam's to offer him consoling advice and to give him some terrible news. Mr Helpmann constantly uses sporting references to explain situations and Sam is initially confused about Jill's status. Mr Helpmann explains she has been killed twice. The bureaucracy has not been amended so the original 'death' Sam provided for Jill, so they could escape together, has remained. Mr Helpmann also explains that he cannot possibly help Sam as they are all bound by the same rules. That is another horrifying thought. The society has become so stagnant that even the highest classes cannot affect policy. The Phrase 'We're all in this together.' has a much darker meaning in this context.
When Helpmann tells Sam to co-operate he is not telling him anything he hasn't already been doing. Sam's actions while foolhardy were never of the variety that required torture or imprisonment. The culture of 'Brazil' is such that even minor transgressions from the normal are usually fatal. Even normal behaviour is sometimes punished with death because of accident and the 'real' criminals get away with it. Not once is an actual terrorist found and the implication is that the bombings are perpetuated by the government to keep the number of arrests for any crime justified just by claiming that the person is a terrorist.

Escape! No Escape!

Sam wakes up after his escape with Tuttle next door to Jill in her Truck. Now we should perhaps remember that Dream like imagery has been used in his interrogation and interment, for example Helpmann in his Santa Claus outfit and Jack in his Servant of Darkness mask. Therefore the revelation that Jill is still alive is plausible, if unlikely. However as soon as Sam has retreated into his fantasy world of houses in the country and life with Jill we realise that it is all a dream. Sam's escape and Tuttle's demise are both fictitious. Jack Lint and Mr Helpmann both stare at Sam and declare:
'He's got away from us Jack.'
'I'm afraid your right Mr Helpmann. He's gone.'
This implies that the only escape from the world of 'Brazil' is madness or death. The happy ending is quashed by reality in an abrupt and unusual way. As Jack and Helpmann walk away Sam begins to sing 'Brazil' the song used at the beginning of the film. This provides an almost circular feel to the film with the music remaining the same but with a different style. The ending music is much darker despite the happy nature of the music there is always a minor feel to the song and the chanting in the background does give a sense of menace.
The question is has Lowry won? Is his madness actually a good thing or is it simply a symptom of the system? Who has bested whom? It is clear that both Helpmann and Jack are concerned they have lost Sam. Sam on the other hand is babbling away quite happily in the background, lost in his own world. Maybe the ending is more ambiguous than a simple triumph of evil over good. No one has really won and yet the world has changed for Sam and who could argue that given the choice they would rather stay in a world of horror or retreat into their dreams?
The ending is one of two endings originally produced for the film. This ending was used for the European and Japanese release while a different cut, by Sid Sheinberg, was released in the US. The main difference in the ending is that the revelation that Sam is dreaming never occurs in the US release. Sam does get away and he does beat the system. This version called the 'Loves conquers all' cut, was produced because Sid Sheinberg, head of Universal at the time was convinced that the film was not commercial enough and that the dark ending would really put people off. He re-cut the whole movie using a clause in the contract of Gilliam stating that the film had to be 132 mins long. The UK release was 142 mins long so had to be cut by ten minutes or the Sheinberg cut would be released. After a long period of argument the film was cut shorter by Gilliam and was released in its more familiar guise in America.
The cut of Sheinberg totally subverts the entire meaning of the film, and therefore the whole point of the film. Why show a system of government that is ruthless, inefficient and uncaring if the hero can simply walk away from it? The point of the film is to show that you cannot just escape from reality, especially one that seeks to control as much as the reality in 'Brazil' does, without taking extreme measures. If you fight the system in any way you die or you go mad. Those are the only two options. What Sheinberg's cut shows you is that if you are a good cog in the machine you can get away with the transgressions of Lowry and not be punished for them.

Who Was Right?

The Gilliam cut of 'Brazil' was not released for some time in the US. Despite this it received critical acclaim and several awards from US critics who saw the film privately. This created a buzz to go and see the movie and although never a huge success the film did make over $9 million at the box office. Also it came as part of Gilliam's 'Magic Trilogy' of 'Time Bandits' and 'The Adventures of Baron Munchausen' which also received critical acclaim for the stunning effects and visual opulence.
The Sheinberg cut is rarely seen except on American television because Gilliam has released another version, a Director's cut (1993), which cleans up the film and keeps the dark ending.

19841/2?

To compare 'Brazil' to '1984' is not quite the same as comparing 'Life of Brian' to the real story of Christ. The original intent with 'Brazil' was to make a humorous version of 1984, even going so far as to call the screenplay 19841/2. What is obvious though is that while certain situations are humorous you could not call this a comedy film. The change from being a comedy film to a bleak look at a possible future must have occurred sometime during writing, as the humour is never forced in 'Brazil'. The difference between this film and '1984' is the change in emphasis away from a totalitarian state to something much more insidious; a capitalist state that insists on charging for everything. The actual crimes of Lowry are bad enough; his hacking into the computer mainframe to change records for example, but his real crime against this state is that of wasting money.
Taken out of the original context this is an extremely funny idea but then you realise that people are paying for their own torture and trials you can't look at the idea in the same way. This is capitalism taken to its logical conclusion. Whereas '1984' is fascism taken to its logical conclusion. The government in 'Brazil' does not want you to obey it, it wants you to buy it and love it. It is always holiday time and there is always something you can buy from 'Central Services. We do the work, you do the pleasure.'
Despite this 'Brazil' does have some elements which are particularly 'Orwellian'. Mr Warrenn is constantly on the move around his offices and delivers his orders in much the same way Hitler did during the war. The fight between Sam and the Samurai can be read as an Anglo-Japanese war and also that the Samurai is a pun on 'Sam you are I' showing the nature of Sam complicity in the system. This is reinforced by Sam's eventual defeat of the Samurai and the revelation that beneath the helmet is himself.

'Return I Will To Old Brazil'

'Brazil' is an achievement in terms of style and substance. Its message is not clear and that is one of its greatest strengths. The ambiguity of the ending and of the characters makes the film memorable. Who would suspect that Michael Palin would be a torturer, and that superheroes of this world fix plumbing instead of thwart bank robberies. It certainly is not a film you could watch just once and receive all of the information from it. The posters on the walls of the city and offices are hilarious and distressing in equal measure. The narrative is difficult to follow because of the slide into madness of Lowry. The final denouement of Lowry's madness takes time for it to sink in.