This 98%-Rated Surreal Sci-Fi Comedy Is a Perfect Pick for Those Who Hate Christmas
Though almost ruined by the studio, the movie is now considered one of the most important of the 20th century.
If the pre-holiday bustle and forced joy are irritating, there's one cult movie that captures this feeling better than any other.
Terry Gilliam's Brazil is a brilliant, bitter, and inventive dystopia in which Christmas is not a symbol of warmth but a backdrop to a nightmare of bureaucratic absurdity.
What Is 'Brazil' About?
The action takes place in a surreal, futuristic society entangled in pervasive bureaucracy and surveillance. Sam Lowry is a frustrated low-level bureaucrat who escapes his stifling reality through fantasies.
In it, he is a hero who rescues a beautiful stranger. His fantasies collide with reality when he meets a girl who looks just like his muse, Jill.
She asks him to help correct a monstrous bureaucratic error – the arrest of the innocent Archibald Buttle. This request draws Sam into a maddening whirlwind of absurdity and rebellion against the system.
In 'Brazil', Christmas Is Not a Cheerful Holiday, but Rather an Oppressive Backdrop
One of Gilliam's most brilliant and cynical choices was his use of Christmas decorations. In his world, Christmas is an artificial construct devoid of warmth or sincerity.
The trees appear pitiful, the decorations seem insincere, and the pre-Christmas bustle only emphasizes the overall spiritual emptiness and the slow crisis of social institutions.
'Brazil' Is One of the Most Important Dystopian Movies Released in the 20th Century
Brazil rightfully stands alongside literary icons of the genre, such as George Orwell's 1984.
The movie is a comprehensive encyclopedia of the "charms" of a totalitarian technocratic society: stifling bureaucracy, pervasive control, absurd terror, and suppression of individuality.
However, visionary filmmaker Terry Gilliam presents this nightmare with a unique, phantasmagorical, and grotesque aesthetic, blending elements of steampunk, film noir, and black comedy.
'Brazil' Was Almost Changed Beyond Recognition & Flopped at the Box Office
The story of Brazil's release has become almost as legendary as the movie itself. Universal was intimidated by the film's darkness and complexity and refused to release it as a director's cut.
Studio head Sidney Sheinberg insisted on a happy ending and demanded significant cuts. Schneiberg even edited his own 94-minute version of the original 142-minute movie.
Terry Gilliam fought back, organizing bootleg screenings for film critics and denouncing the studio in the press.
Ultimately, the director prevailed: a 132-minute version featuring a still-dark ending but two deleted scenes was released theatrically in 1985. The final 142-minute director's cut was later released on DVD.
Despite its current cult status, Brazil flopped upon its initial release, proving too complex and bizarre for wide audiences at the time.
What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'Brazil'?
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Brazil has 98% from critics and 90% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.
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On IMDb, the movie has a score of 7.8/10.
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On Letterboxd, Brazil scored 4.1/5.0.
Where to Watch 'Brazil'?
Brazil is available to buy or rent on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.
