Brazil

"It's only a state of mind."

Dec 18 1985 R 2h 12m
Drama, Sci-Fi

Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle, he meets the woman from his daydream, and in trying to help her gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy and lies.

Plot

Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) is a harried technocrat in a futuristic society that is needlessly convoluted and inefficient. He dreams of a life where he can fly away from technology and overpowering bureaucracy, and spend eternity with the woman of his dreams. While trying to rectify the wrongful arrest of one Harry Buttle (Brian Miller), Lowry meets the woman he is always chasing in his dreams, Jill Layton (Kim Greist). Meanwhile, the bureaucracy has fingered him responsible for a rash of terrorist bombings, and Sam and Jill's lives are put in danger.

Written by

Terry Gilliam, Tom Stoppard, Charles McKeown

Directed by

Terry Gilliam

Production Countries

United States of America, United Kingdom

Production Companies

Embassy International Pictures

Languages

English

Awards

Nominated for 2 Oscars. 9 wins & 6 nominations total

Scores
# of Votes
219,421
Average Rating
7.8 out of 10
Metascore
84
Popularity
NA