Untying Brazil
I recently viewed a film that I had nearly brushed off as one of the most extraordinary Hollywood productions I have ever seen. Its chaos nearly blinds its point, but, with a watchful eye and an attitude that contradicts the likes of an 'oh, that's weird' mentality, I came to the conclusion that it would bring me great joy to deconstruct it. The movie is Terry Gilliam's 1987 surrealist film, Brazil. Set "somewhere in the 20th century", in a city that looks straight out of the German Expressionist movement of the 1920's; echoing the long lived cityscapes and bizarre sets of Fritz Lang's masterpiece, Metropolis. It is truly sci-fi, but does not possess the typical clichs of it genre, focusing, instead, on paranoia, bureaucracy and romance. Set in a corporation-ruled world where the mistake of a B' in the place of a T' can result in an innocent man's sentence to death and create a conspiracy that would alter the life of protagonist, Sam Lowry, forever.
The city is absorbed with a gothic atmosphere; huge emotionless statues nourish dirty streets, eerie lighting nearly drains out all color to the point of indistinguishable black and white. Its buildings are a construction of mass produced box-like flats, placed one on top of the other; they are simply purchased and shipped out. Exposed heating ducts of all sizes and colors are the fashionable dcor of the home. Life's main goal is efficiency and space is saved wherever possible. Offices are space saving cubicles; on room made into two with a desk shared between the wall of the adjoining cubicles. Life is sought after but not given any respect or consideration. The aged, unless improved' by plastic (or acid) surgery, are ignored and considered useless. They are a constant reminder of death, an incredibly unpleasant subject in this society that is avoided at all cost. The corporation refrains from even using the word death', replacing it with words like deleted, canceled or no longer available. Most have an obsession with youth; even still, there is a complete disregard for happiness and the things that make life work living. Destruction and the death of others hardly fazes anyone; the 1950's, American ethic of ignorance being bliss, is taken to a satirical extreme. Bombs maim and kill people on a daily basis but are considered little more than a nescience to anyone unhurt. The wounded are treated like eyesores; waste that is cleaned up by the department of Information Transit.
Information Transit is a SWAT teem of sorts, with absurd slogans like Happiness: We're All In It Together', who riddle the town, presumably doing their own small part in the boosting of moral. Television proves to be the ultimate boost, dominating nearly all free time and becoming the only outlet for the society to escape from the poverty and oppression of daily life.
The society is kept in check through the pushing of the Ministry of Information, a governmental corporation bent on intelligence; headed by a group of power hungry executives called Information Retrieval. Truly the most prestigious department of the corporation, Information Retrieval is the heart of this society, responsible for enforcing the laws and regulations of the land. They also pride themselves on knowing everything'. When our protagonist, Sam, enters for the first day of his new job, he isn't confronted by the usual metal detectors, bomb sniffing robots and X-ray machines that are standard in most offices and is startled, "I could be anyone." The porter answers with, "No you couldn't, sir, this is Information Retrieval." If they don't truly know everything, they want people to think that they do. Their credo is to enforce "good old fashioned values", and they accomplish this by way of a department called Security Level 5; a wing of Information Retrieval devoted to the torture of any suspected rebels conspiring against the corporation. In fact this particular branch is just as paranoid of terrorist rebels (everyone who is not with the system is against the system') as the citizens are of them.
The Ministry of Information covers all facets of this world's society. Other wings include the Department of Works and Central Services who are essentially glorified repairmen. Works cleans up after the damages caused by Information transit and Central Services fixes the numerous electrical problems in people's homes; nothing works in this supposedly super efficient world, hence, they are completely impossible to get in touch with. Along with these, there is the pinnacle middleman department, Information Adjustment. These are the people who actually issue the paperwork records. The atmosphere here is that of a mailroom; a massive blue collar hive of bees.
The story follows the life of a mild mannered, daydreaming businessman called Sam Lowry (Jonathan Price), who finds his computer automated life turned right-side up, and himself slowly becoming a dislodged gear in the system, when he realizes that the government that he has placed all of his confidence in, is not perfect. His conscience is his downfall when he's volunteered' by his paranoid boss (Ian Holme) to deliver a refund check (the first refund check ever to enter the offices of Information Adjustment) for the life of an Archibald Buttle, whose identity was mistaken for Harold Tuttle. This mistake is considered a grave embarrassment and Lowery is sent to personally deliver the check to the wrongly widowed Mrs. Buttle. While in her building, he is confronted by the woman, quite literally, of his dreams, Jill Leiton (Katherine Helmond) a rough truck driver with little love for the corporation. Not convinced by Lowry's persistence, she brushes him off as just another suit'. In his dreams, Sam is a winged superhero, sharing a world with her and her alone. His dreams are a constant reflection of the situations in his life and rejection of his dream woman is realized by the kidnapping of her dream counterpart. Walls of conflict swell all around him and many obstacles are placed in Sam's winged alternate's way, and the perfect world that is his dream, turns into a nightmare.
When Sam's heating breaks he finds himself involved Harry Tuttle (Robert DeNiro) who is presumably involved in a never-seen terrorist group who is rebelling against the system that Sam is so passively a part of. Paper work weary, gun-toting, Tuttle is wanted by the corporate branch, Information Retrieval, for performing freelance heating and air conditioning repair; a highly illegal procedure without proper consent and paper work and is suspect to the numerous bombings of Neo-Brazil. Lowery realizes that Tuttle is the man with whom information retrieval had mistaken for Buttle. This simple case of mistaken identity, in a place where paper work is the word of God, weaves an intrinsic web of rebellion and violence, which Lowery finds himself right in the middle of.
As the conflict in Sam's life grows, so does the intensity of his dreams. His nightmares become day-mares, invading his reality with demons and dread. He discovers that the company he is working for believes that Jill is a terrorist conspirator, causing Sam to question his own musing. In his dreams he is confronted by a huge Samurai warrior; a personified version of the corporation, who he is forced to fight in order to save his damsel in distress. He discovers that the demons that kidnapped her were the slaves of this villain and that these slaves are, in fact, slaves of the industry that he is a part of; they are a representation of his conscience weighing down on his shoulders. The Samurai's defeat reveals that Sam wasn't just fighting a personified version of the corporation, he's been fighting the corporately brainwashed, bureaucratic, and doubting side of himself. The truth behind the Ministry of Information; the oppression and violence, finally becomes apparent to him and only makes him feel more helpless. The images of Buttle's widow and numerous others that he fears his actions have effected, haunt his days.
Lowry is destined for downfall. His love leads to his demise when he tampers with Jill's computer records; deleting her paperwork existence' from the system. He is found out and becomes a victim of his own company's torture. It is not until Sam begins to covet and think for himself that he gets into trouble. The system is based around people thinking and knowing only what the system wants them to think and know. The satire is painful but familiar; the good guy never wins.
Regardless of the dark, depressing atmosphere, along with violence and oppression, Brazil still maintains humor. Gilliam's quirk saves this overwhelming story from probable pretence and allegory; showing a masterful use of imagination and production design. Xavier Cugat's strange cocktail music, Brazil', is the only song on the soundtrack and is altered, creating several different versions, complementing each scene's idea, and bending emotions to suit the situations. The final product is that of an uncomfortable and frightening, extreme reality. Brazil has been described as an acid trip gone frighteningly wrong, the likes of which only a brilliant mind could contrive. Little more needs saying; this movie is a full assault on the senses. It won't entertain you, it will effect you.