Review of Brazil (1985) by Dawdlingpoet — 01 Oct 2022

This is like a weird dystopian nightmare - less V for Vendetta and more 1984-ish, with a heavy emphasis on 'Big Brother' and government ministries. I knew it'd likely be a bit weird but it really is rather bonkers and there's not much context or information provided to the viewer as it goes on - we have to guess things as and when.

I recognised a number of well known comedian/actors, including Bob Hoskins, Gorden Kaye, Michael Palin and of course Robert DeNiro. There is some witty dialogue present but its not what I'd call a particularly accessible film - its very quirky and surreal with a weighty feel to it, so you have to be in the right sort of mood for it I suppose. It's very much a film about corporate and indeed government based bureaucracy. It's quite dark in terms of the themes covered and the visual look of the film - most settings are in barely lit dark rooms. I suppose it does well at putting an oppresive feel across. I did laugh a bit at the scenes depicting a worker or manager being hounded by a gang of other workers asking him questions, as he rushed down a long, long hall, reminiscent of MPs being hounded by the press I suppose (not that I feel sorry for them most of the time), due to the upbeat music played during these sequences.

There's an element of riddle present in some of whats said and given this film dates from the mid 1980s, its visually somewhat dated, a little like Blade Runner, only without the flying cars obviously. This is quite a niche sort of a film - not one that will likely appeal to too many people, certainly on first watch. I wouldn't really recommend this as such, as I don't think its the kind of film that will appeal to many unless your really in the mood for something off-centre.