Brazil
A timid bureaucrat pursues love and impossible freedom through a grotesque retrofuturist maze of paperwork, surveillance, and authoritarian absurdity.
Overview
In a dystopian future, one man's dreams clash with a nightmarish bureaucracy.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- witty
- surreal
- oppressive
- cult movie night
- science fiction marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Terry Gilliam's visually extravagant dystopian satire as a landmark of imaginative political comedy, though some find its sprawling narrative difficult to follow.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The society operates through immense ducts, pneumatic systems, clattering computers, and antiquated office technology despite its futuristic setting.
Sam's attempt to correct Harry Buttle's wrongful arrest reveals a system more committed to paperwork than human consequences.
Sam's recurring flight fantasies and pursuit of Jill directly shape his choices within the bureaucratic world.
Bombings, institutional violence, and social collapse are presented through extravagant visual jokes and grotesque comic timing.
Films like Brazil, and why
Blade Runner
shares dystopian bureaucracy, retrofuturist production design, and paranoid science fiction satire
Dr. Strangelove
shares absurdist authoritarian institutions, dark humor, and visually extravagant dystopian world-building
The Trial
shares surreal bureaucratic oppression, dreamlike imagery, and a tragic struggle against institutional power
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
shares maximalist fantasy, comic grotesquerie, and an ordinary protagonist trapped in an oppressive system
Movie Details
- Director
- Terry Gilliam
- Release Date
- 1985-02-20
- Runtime
- 143 min
- Rating
- 7.7 / 10 (3839)
Cast
- Jonathan Pryce
- Robert De Niro
- Katherine Helmond
- Ian Holm
- Bob Hoskins
- Michael Palin
- Ian Richardson
- Peter Vaughan
- Kim Greist
- Jim Broadbent
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Brazil about?
- A timid bureaucrat pursues love and impossible freedom through a grotesque retrofuturist maze of paperwork, surveillance, and authoritarian absurdity.
- What is Brazil like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Brazil as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Brazil violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Brazil as moderate.
- What did critics think of Brazil?
- Critics broadly regard Terry Gilliam's visually extravagant dystopian satire as a landmark of imaginative political comedy, though some find its sprawling narrative difficult to follow.
- Which films are like Brazil?
- Films with a similar feel include Blade Runner, Dr. Strangelove, The Trial, and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.
- How long is Brazil?
- Brazil runs 143 minutes.
- Where can I watch Brazil?
- In United States, Brazil is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
