Brazil - Terry Gilliam

In the film, “Brazil”, directed by Terry Gilliam a dark futuristic society is depicted which seems worryingly plausible throughout, questioning the viewer’s morals as well as their previous interpretations of today’s world. Gilliam, as ever, uses unique styles of film productions to develop this daunting dystopian society, run by a Government, resembling a dictatorship, that is incapable of addressing the problems in hand and treats people as, dare I say, insignificant mice – with torture a means of punishment and the deputy minister regarding life and death as a game. The film follows the emotional development and spontaneous rebellion of the main character, Sam Lowry, and his journey to seek love and power, displaying the true animal nature of human being’s greed. Gilliam manages to achieve this demoralizing and oppressive nature of a modernistic world through the use of mise-en-scene, lighting and sound, including various techniques such as challenging camera angles and puzzling sets. I will begin by showing you a short clip from the opening couple of scenes, in which the dark futuristic world is introduced effectively and immediately questions the viewer’s opinions of the modern day. CLIP From the outlet, Terry Gilliam introduces a dark, unsettling and unfamiliar world that immediately appears to be oppressive. The use of lighting in the opening scene, or the lack of it, furthers the darkness suggesting a sinister, mysterious world. He continues this theme, by presenting the prospect of terrorism with the explosion – instantly fixating the viewer with confusion as to how war is still present in this bleak future. The effective use of the interview with the deputy minister reveals an insight into how the jurisdiction over the country is frighteningly passive when concerned with the topic of terrorism. More worryingly, when questioned over the topic he responds with relations to the campaign against terrorism as a game and how they will eventually ‘hit them