Is "Brazil" a Christmas Movie?

[Sneelock]

I made my peace with "Die Hard" being a Christmas movie maybe three years ago. I mean, why not? it's set at Christmas and the internet filled up with people insisting that's what it was. So,lo and behold - that's what it IS. I've got no problem with Die Hard and I have no problem with it being a Christmas movie.

this year I've decided to re-assess Terry Gilliam's singular 1985 film "Brazil" to the same purpose. I plan on watching it tonight. it's been a couple of years since I've seen it. I realized the movie has been on my mind. A lot of the more bizarre aspects of it have popped into my head recently. Often my thoughts return to the film's character's blase' response to terrorism, the horrible plastic surgery presented as beauty, the bizarre detail and ineptitude of it's bureaucracy etc..

I think the only time I ever watched the film at Christmas is when it was brand new.  they showed the full cut in Westwood the 3rd or 4th week of December because the LA Critics wrote glowingly of Gilliam's cut and intimidated the studio into releasing it for special engagements. it soon went into general release with a cut that was shorter and considerably less bleak than Gilliam's.

it is Gillian's cut that I will be enjoying with egg nog while initiating my Free two weeks of the Criterion Channel tonight. yes, it's pretty bleak but it's every bit as crammed with Christmas iconography as "Die Hard" - maybe even more so!

so, whattaya think? is "Brazil" a Christmas movie?

[Sneelock]

Declaring that "Brazil" is a Christmas movie made it eligible as my Holiday "Movie Night" selection. It was fun watching it under those circumstances but I doubt I'll do it every year. it's not exactly "It's a Wonderful Life" or even "Die Hard" for that matter.

What I mean is that it's as bleak in its depiction of Christmas as it is in its depiction of everything else. All the Christmas displays might be up all year long for all we know. Presents are dispensed like business cards or fountain pens. The picture I posted above is from one of the darkest moments in the film. Sam's benefactor calmly and matter of factly lets him know that he is doomed to the fate they both know is in store for him. Even the most powerful man he knows is powerless against the fate he has sealed for himself.

I love "Brazil". it's still pretty rare to see a movie jump into the deep end of the pool so fearlessly.things that always bugged me about the film seem to have bugged me less this viewing.

Sam is not very likable when you get right down to it. the fact that it's structured as a comedy and that Jonathan Pryce is a brilliant actor has helped me make my peace with this. of course I wouldn't go so far as to say he deserves his fate but it makes sense that his heroics are things he mostly does in his imagination.

I read about a recent pissing match between Cleese and Gilliam. An interviewer asked JC how he felt about Gilliam belittling his advocacy for psychotherapy. Cleese replied along the lines of if there was ever someone who NEEDED psychotherapy that it was Gilliam. It would certainly be more cost effective to TG & his producers if he worked his issues out with a therapist instead of making weird, expensive movies. it wouldn't be near as much fun for ME.

"Brazil"? fun? I laughed way more this time than the last few. Maybe I could use some therapy myself.
the last 20 minutes or so remain one of my most jaw dropping evenings in a movie theater. it was nice seeing that my jaw still drops all these years later in the comfort of my own home.

[davey]

I’ve never revisited it. Not since I saw it in the theater and hated it. 1985 was a particularly bad year for movies. If the American film renaissance of the 70’s had ended with Heaven’s Gate (80) and Cutter’s Way (81), there was still a kind of half-life left. Small films that felt interesting and significant.

But everything felt bloated in 1985. It was the year of Rambo and Porkys. The Goonies and Back to the Future. Weird Science and The Breakfast Club. Even the prestige films (Out of Africa, The Color Purple, Room with a View) felt kind of overstuffed.

So Brazil shows up, and it’s supposed to be an art film. A respite from all that. But instead, it’s even more oppressive. I think I was in a good mood going in, but I remember being in a vile mood when it was over. I could never bring myself to watch it again.

[Sneelock]

it's fantastic!!!
LOL.

[Sneelock]

'85 had some great movies and not just ones you already mentioned!
Witness, Ran, Lost in America, Runaway Train, Blood Simple, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Louie Bluie, the Emerald Forrest...
Did I mention Brazil? Did you know it's a Xmas movie?

[davey]

Dec 21, 2022 17:05:55 GMT Sneelock said:

'85 had some great movies and not just ones you already mentioned!
Witness, Ran, Lost in America, Runaway Train, Blood Simple, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Louie Bluie, the Emerald Forrest...
Did I mention Brazil? Did you know it's a Xmas movie?

See…even those feel like a mixed bag to me - and they are the cream of that crop.

Witness -Never really stuck to my ribs like it did for everyone else.

Ran - Pretty great.

Lost in America - I was almost in it (auditioned for the fast food assistant manager part at the end). Probably Brooks’s best.

Runaway Train - Voigt and Roberts are great. But kinda histrionic.

Blood Simple - Kind of a bore.

Pee Wee’s Big Adventure - Sure. Probably the last time Tim
Burton made a watchable film.

Louie Bluie - Probably my favorite film here.

The Emerald Forest - Lots of great atmosphere. Don’t remember anything else about it.

[Sneelock]

Dec 21, 2022 19:17:41 GMT davey said:

Pee Wee’s Big Adventure - Sure. Probably the last time Tim
Burton made a watchable film.

my favorite is "Ed Wood"