Brazil

I watched quite a few movies again this weekend...boy, this time between school programs has been nice! I actually liked every movie I saw this weekend, despite a couple of them being ones I did not really think I would care for. The first movie I am writing about is one of those I did not anticipate liking much: Brazil. This 1985 film starring Jonathan Pryce and Robert De Niro, was directed by Terry Gilliam, who I know best from his work on 12 Monkeys - a truly out there film. This film, set in an alternate modern day and dealing with government bureaucracy and paranoia, was another strange trip, but I found it much more enjoyable and relatable than 12 Monkeys. The reason for this was probably two-fold: Jonathan Pryce was great in the film. In a movie where much emphasis was placed on the weird sets (retro modern America is the best way to describe them - sort of like Clockwork Orange, which I reviewed a couple weeks ago, actually), he brought real heart to his character. Even when his character, Sam, was acting "crazy' you still felt connected to Sam and wanted things to turn out okay for him. Whether they do in the end is subject to each viewers interpretation of "okay". The second reason I liked the movie as much as I did was that the commentary is very relevant to today's society, probably more so than when the film was made in 1985. The paranoia over terrorists and the extreme measures to prevent terrorist attacks in the form of denying people certain liberties was a true mirror of what we have seen in many instance in this country since 9/11. This movies was made 16 years before that ever happened!! The running commentary about bureaucracy was also entertaining and pertinent to anyone who has ever dealt with the government or any kind of large organization. This movies is very stylized, and probably not for everyone, but I do recommend it.