The Dystopian World of Terry Gilliam
Luke Nguyen; 2019
Released in 1985, the film Brazil won multiple awards and has been praised as ‘The most imaginative and entertaining nightmare ever put on film’. It is described as acclaimed director Terry Gilliam’s masterpiece. The film is also described as a comedic interpretation of George Orwell’s novel ‘1984’.
The film Brazil is a film set in the future, although there are many uncanny and eerie features and subtle hints to what this dystopian world bears. Yet, it uncovers the depressing and disheartening truth of our world today and how it may look in the near future; a repressive and totalitarian government, where there is no defined sense of freedom nor responsibility, with the ignorant government slogan of ‘we’re all in this together’.
The actuality of climate change and deception is also a consistent and unwavering underlying theme in this movie. The multiple facades that elude to the grim reality, for example, the scene where it shows a group of well-maintained of factories, draped by a pristine sky, without a hint of disturbance or pollution. But as the camera slowly pans out, it is revealed to us that it is just an old man who has built a model factory.
There are also multiple repeats of the same scene of characters driving down a highway, decorated by hoardings on both sides of the road…
