General: Brazil (the Movie)

Posted Tue, Jul 7 2009 13:24 by Deborah Kurata

I saw the movie Brazil this week-end. The description sounded interesting and is was nominated for some Oscars, so thought it worth a try. Have to say it was a little odd and I would not recommend it. For the genre, the Web site includes “comedy”. I don’t recall seeing anything funny.

The most thought-provoking part of the movie was that it was done in 1985 and looked at the “future”. The future was very 1984’ish with people literally getting “bagged” and arrested with no rights.

It seemed like only the government information division had computers, and everyone was drowning in paperwork. (In one of the scenes Robert DeNero literally gets buried in paperwork.)

The government offices were the size of a broom closet and desks were shared through a hole in the wall between two offices. Phones were like a small switch board with jacks to plug in to different holes.

Everything in the home seemed to be automated, making toast and coffee in the morning, for example. This was achieved through massive ducting. There were ducts everywhere. The movie started with an advertisement to improve the look of your exposed ducting to match your room’s interior design. I guess we all need to be thankful for Moore’s Law!

Bottom line, give it a miss.

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Comments

# re: General: Brazil (the Movie)

Wednesday, July 08, 2009 11:51 AM by Beth Massi

I LOVE that movie!!! Braaaazzzziiiiillllll. I suppose you wouldn't like Woody Allen's "Sleeper" either then. Another great comedy about the future. ;-)

# re: General: Brazil (the Movie)

Wednesday, July 08, 2009 12:49 PM by Deborah Kurata

Hey Beth -

Someone told me that I just didn't *get* the British humor in this movie. But I am a big Dr. Who, Torchwood, Graham Norton, and Top Gear fan, and used to watch Monty Python. So that can't be it. :-)

This movie was written by some of the same people that wrote Monty Python and some of the same actors were in this movie.

# re: General: Brazil (the Movie)

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 7:49 PM by alex

Maybe you should read up on it a little. This film was extremely important at the time, portraying serious social issues with black humour. Dismissing a film because it is "a little odd" is a little closed minded when it comes to film review.

# re: General: Brazil (the Movie)

Thursday, October 15, 2009 1:55 PM by Deborah Kurata

Hi Alex -

Thank you for dropping by my blog.

Yes, I assumed it was a very important movie at the time considering its Oscar nomination and interesting social statements. But it was not for me.

And as you may guess, I am a software developer by trade, not a movie reviewer. Just wanted to share my opinion and thoughts.

Thanks for sharing yours as well!

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