Rate that Movie: Brazil

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Equilibrium is a disgrace to the sci-fi genre and in general filmmaking
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Oh my god. They're trying to claim another young victim with the foreign films.



Welcome to the human race...
Oh okay, when reading other people's reviews of the movie they say it's about living under the totalitarian government, so maybe I took the movie the wrong way. But even it's about Sam having his dreams quashed, I feel the movie didn't really have a lot to say about that either. I mean there are lots of movies where the protagonist is pushed around by the government and goes crazy in the end, and I didn't feel this this one brought anything new to the table.

It felt like an exercise in over-the-top-ness, and nothing more, but perhaps I should watch it again to see if I take it differently. It's one of those movies I want to get into and find the visuals fascinating, but just trying to look for the good stuff. But I read there are like three versions of this movie floating around, so which one should I watch? Not sure which one I saw before.
Yeah, I'll concede that what really sets Brazil apart from similarly dystopian films is Gilliam's sheer sense of visual style and absurdist humour. I can't really tell you to find it funny, but I do think it's worth noting how it plays around with typical dystopian tropes for dark laughs, most notably in how the most dangerous terrorist in the film is just a guy that fixes people's air-conditioning for free while the actual repairmen either don't show up or make things much worse. I'd say another key difference is that Sam seems content enough to work a low-level job even when his high-powered mother could connect him to a better job (as if that's his way of maintaining control over his life) and only works to change in order to pursue his dream girl (and his dreams change to reflect his circumstances as well). I do think it's one of those films where it's hard to really get everything on a single viewing, though - as for what version to watch, I can only say that the only version I've watched was the standard 132-minute version that had the aforementioned ending (apparently there's a 142-minute director's cut and a hacked-up 94-minute cut that really doesn't sound like it's worth watching).

All I can say is I've seen them all except Equilibrium ....and those are all real good. I'll have to watch Equilibrium, thanks for mentioning that.
Based on your tastes, I feel like I should recommend against it. I liked it well enough when I first saw it many years ago (it's even on one of my old Top 100 lists), but I'll also admit that it's an extremely derivative dystopia story (the plot itself is Fahrenheit 451 mixed with THX 1138) that exists to prop up some post-Matrix action sequences.

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I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.
Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0



Not a great fan of Brazil really – I'd just say it's okay, so 5/10. Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen are better films.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
been forever since seeing Brazil and have been a big fan of Gilliam throughout my life so, if my quirky memory works somewhat right, it is around a
for me. Would need to see it again to see if that hits about right for me.



mattiasflgrtll6's Avatar
The truth is in here
I got the chance to see Brazil at an outside screening. It's visually gorgeous, and also an engrossing weird but brilliant dystopian story. There are even the comedic Terry Gilliam-esque moments you're familiar with.

Equilibrium while not quite on the same level is still a helluva lot of fun. Just like Brazil it has a unique look, and never once makes you bored. Christian Bale gives one of his most subdued effective performances. I love the kind of sci-fi movies that came out in the late 90's and early 2000's.

Both are
.