Terry Gilliam's best movie, in my opinion, is a warped 1984, with Sam Lowry as a futuristic librarian trapped in the bureaucratic system. As Lowry, Jonathan Pryce has a brilliant chance to shine in the lead, which he does. In support, he has Kim Griest, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Robert de Niro, and Bob Hoskins, amongst others.
Brazil is surprisingly violent - viewing it again recently after a gap of several years, I found the constant attacks, bombings etc., slightly sickening, although I'm sure that is the intention. Gilliam's films, like his Python cartoons, thrive on the grotesque, and Brazil is no exception. Lowry is a misfit, a square peg in a round hole, and like Winston Smith in Orwell's apocalypse, there is no place for him in his world. The bleak ending emphasises this very point, and leaves the viewer curiously empty.
Brazil is surprisingly violent - viewing it again recently after a gap of several years, I found the constant attacks, bombings etc., slightly sickening, although I'm sure that is the intention. Gilliam's films, like his Python cartoons, thrive on the grotesque, and Brazil is no exception. Lowry is a misfit, a square peg in a round hole, and like Winston Smith in Orwell's apocalypse, there is no place for him in his world. The bleak ending emphasises this very point, and leaves the viewer curiously empty.