The science fiction genre was in a very good place in the 1980s. With George Lucas wrapping up the original Star Wars trilogy and Gene Roddenberry taking Star Trek back to the small screen, new voices had to step up to fill the void. The leader of the pack was James Cameron, who not only directed the best sequel of the decade, Aliens, but also kicked off his own franchise with The Terminator, a movie rife with social commentary about technology and humanity’s reliance on it. But all the attention that The Terminator was getting due to its critical acclaim and major box office haul meant other movies with a strong voice faded into obscurity.
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Director Terry Gilliam didn’t burst onto the scene in the ’80s; he cut his teeth in the previous decade by helming a couple of standout fantasy films, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Jabberwocky. However, in 1985, he decided to try his hand at sci-fi by writing and directing a film that topped The Terminator in the commentary department. In fact, all these years later, it’s still as good as it’s ever been, with more than a few filmmakers using it as inspiration for their projects.
Terry Gilliam Takes Aim at Bureaucracy in Brazil
Sam Lowry, Brazil‘s main character, lives a pretty relatable life. Stuck at a dead-end job pushing papers for the government, he spends most of his days fantasizing about being a hero. In his dreams, he has wings and fights the forces of evil to protect a mysterious woman. A screw-up at work forces Sam to kick into gear and visit the home of a widow who lost her husband after he was wrongfully arrested and died in custody. During their conversation, her neighbor, Jill, passes by, and Sam realizes that she looks just like the woman from his dreams. Before Sam can wrap his head around that, though, things get even more complicated when the terrorist that the government was actually after, Harry Tuttle, shows up at Sam’s apartment.
Slowly but surely, Sam realizes that the machine that he’s a small cog in doesn’t have his best interest at heart. He starts a relationship with Jill and gets up to no good with Harry, reinvigorating his passion for life after years of having his flame snuffed out. Unfortunately, the good times don’t last because the government gets its hands on Sam and tosses him in a torture chair after killing Jill. It looks like Harry comes to his rescue in the nick of time, and he escapes with Jill in her truck. However, Brazil pulls the rug out by the last second by revealing that Sam never got out of the chair and has gone insane. The ending hits like a freight train, touching on a cycle that may never be broken. But without even trying, Gilliam started a cycle of his own that’s still going strong today.
Brazil Continues to Act as a Blueprint for Blockbusters
Outside of its unique story, Brazil‘s other claims to fame are its aesthetic and production design. Many movies have taken inspiration from the dystopian world in Gilliam’s film, including Super Mario Bros., Dark City, and Tim Burton’s Batman. A few filmmakers have taken things a step further, borrowing elements of Brazil‘s story to enhance their own. One notable example is Star Wars: The Last Jedi, with director Rian Johnson confirming that his movie has a couple of Brazil Easter eggs. The Last Jedi‘s themes also have a lot in common with Brazil‘s, as the rich and powerful don’t hesitate to step over those they consider lesser in a galaxy far, far away.
The best part about Brazil getting love forty years after its release is that audiences didn’t embrace it when it came out. While audiences in the United Kingdom showed up for it, the United States was a different story. Brazil ended its box office run in the US without hitting the $10 million mark. Getting people to sit down and watch the movie isn’t much of a problem anymore, though, as it’s available as part of The Criterion Collection, which is just another notch on its very impressive belt.
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