Slideshow
BRAZIL
U.K, U.S., 1985
Directed by Terry Gilliam
With Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro, Kim Greist, Michael Palin, Katherine Helmond, Bob Hoskins, Ian Holm
Approx. 142 mins. 35mm/DCP.
“Jonathan Pryce is Sam Lowry (the name suggests Stan Laurel, and Pryce wears Laurel’s expression of perpetually astonished innocence), a minor functionary in a totalitarian government of the near future; his only escape from the parodistically bleak urban environment (resourcefully rendered by Gilliam through a combination of sets, models, and locations) is in his dreams, where he becomes a winged, heroic figure rescuing a ravishing blond. Of course, it isn’t long before the blond (Kim Greist) walks into his waking life. Robert De Niro contributes a gruffly funny cameo as the one knight of honor in the ashen land: a guerrilla heating-duct repairman. With Michael Palin, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Peter Vaughan, and Bob Hoskins.” – Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Reviews
“It's like a stoned, slapstick 1984: a nightmare comedy in which the comedy is just an aspect of the nightmarishness.”
– Pauline Kael, The New Yorker
“[A] darkly funny and truly visionary retro-futurist fantasy.”
– Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal
“Terry Gilliam's ferociously creative black comedy is filled with wild tonal contrasts, swarming details, and unfettered visual invention — every shot carries a charge of surprise and delight.”
– Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader