I have to admit i have always had something of a problem with Terry Gilliam. And having a problem with Terry Gilliam and watching this film is kind of like eating something you're allergic to. The reaction is instant because this movie is just so much Terry Gilliam.
The word that i usually drift towards when watching one of his works is "absurd". It seems to me that the feeling of absurdity is what he always aims at. Usually he also hits his target. The question though is if this makes his movies good or not. Of course things are not that simple. It's always possible to admire or appreciate something without actually liking or enjoying it. That being said i can't really say i've ever enjoyed one of Gilliams films (i came closest with "Twelve Monkeys"), but i have admired a couple of them for their undeniable originality and intelligence.
"Brazil" was difficult for me. The Orwellian world in which it takes place is a very dominating factor in the movie. Although i perceived it to be about humanity (as are most such sad visions of the future) the humans here really take a backseat. The setting, this future world, is grand and painstakingly overworked. From the smallest hissing pipe to the greatest open space there is an attention to detail that speaks volumes about both vision and lack of budget restraints. Of course today the future in Brazil seems irreparably old and dated, but that is almost always the case with science-fiction and visions of the future and it didn't bother me.
What did bother me however was that i didn't really know how to follow the storyline in Brazil. Of course one might say that the storyline was not the point here, and you might be right but i find that to be a problem in and of itself. Characters enter from the side without good explanations, things happen that i understood very little about and of course dream sequences were added and spliced in a way that sometimes made it difficult to know what was reality or dream. Probably that was also something deliberate.
In the end i think that me and Mr. Gilliam simply don't mix. His brand of very black comedy just doesn't strike the right note with me. It's absurd to the point where i don't know how to react. And here we have two hours of disjointed storyline and bizarre events that sometimes seem to have very little to do with each other. It's not the kind of black comedy you laugh at, and at the same time it didn't feel heartfelt in any real way. An impressive display of vision and budget no doubt, and with a surprisingly good ending (of course i count on understanding the story enough to judge), but lacking something to keep it all together.
The word that i usually drift towards when watching one of his works is "absurd". It seems to me that the feeling of absurdity is what he always aims at. Usually he also hits his target. The question though is if this makes his movies good or not. Of course things are not that simple. It's always possible to admire or appreciate something without actually liking or enjoying it. That being said i can't really say i've ever enjoyed one of Gilliams films (i came closest with "Twelve Monkeys"), but i have admired a couple of them for their undeniable originality and intelligence.
"Brazil" was difficult for me. The Orwellian world in which it takes place is a very dominating factor in the movie. Although i perceived it to be about humanity (as are most such sad visions of the future) the humans here really take a backseat. The setting, this future world, is grand and painstakingly overworked. From the smallest hissing pipe to the greatest open space there is an attention to detail that speaks volumes about both vision and lack of budget restraints. Of course today the future in Brazil seems irreparably old and dated, but that is almost always the case with science-fiction and visions of the future and it didn't bother me.
What did bother me however was that i didn't really know how to follow the storyline in Brazil. Of course one might say that the storyline was not the point here, and you might be right but i find that to be a problem in and of itself. Characters enter from the side without good explanations, things happen that i understood very little about and of course dream sequences were added and spliced in a way that sometimes made it difficult to know what was reality or dream. Probably that was also something deliberate.
In the end i think that me and Mr. Gilliam simply don't mix. His brand of very black comedy just doesn't strike the right note with me. It's absurd to the point where i don't know how to react. And here we have two hours of disjointed storyline and bizarre events that sometimes seem to have very little to do with each other. It's not the kind of black comedy you laugh at, and at the same time it didn't feel heartfelt in any real way. An impressive display of vision and budget no doubt, and with a surprisingly good ending (of course i count on understanding the story enough to judge), but lacking something to keep it all together.