Sunday, April 22, 2007

I want to talk to you about ducts.

Telegram Girl: [dancing wildly, while singing in an absurdly high soprano] A-a-a-a-a-a-A-a-a-a-a-a-a-A-a-a-a-a-a-a-A-A! Mrs Ida Lowry requests the pleasure of your COMPANYYYY! At her APARTMENT TONIIIIGHTT! For eight thirtee-EE-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-EE, to MIDNIGHTTT! To celebrate the completion of her recent cosmetic SURGERYYY! E-e-e-e-e-e-E-e-e-e-e-e-E! wwwWWAAAAAAIIIIIIIII!
[very long pause, Sam glances around nervously]
Sam Lowry: ummm... Thanks.
Telegram Girl: It's reply paid.
Sam Lowry: Is it?
[telegram girl nods]
Sam Lowry: oh... um... two, three,
Sam Lowry:
[singing] Mother, I am sorry that I am unable to come to your parrrttty...
Telegram Girl: You DON'T have to sing it!
Sam Lowry: I don't?


^^this is from the movie Brazil by Terry Gilliam.

Some points I want to make about Brazil:

Number one: Brazil is a pretty good movie for a rainy Sunday afternoon. Get some ice cream, too.

Number two: This might seem like it has aged a little in the past 22 years. There’s a truck-driving girl with short spikey hair and coveralls(supposedly not gay), a guy flying around with a golden costume in a purple sky(supposedly not gay either), also there’s a lot(!) of artificial fog. I like the look of the computers and magnified screens though.

Number three: Use the following words to write a one-sentence-review about Brazil: [“dystopia”, “retro-future”, "duct", “bureaucrate”,"breakfast machine", “1984”/”orwellesque”, “allegory”, “cellophane”]

Number four: Apparently this is one of the movies teenage girls hate. They give it 4/10 stars. The imdb community is appalled.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0088846/board/nest/67420309?p=1


Number five: The allegory of a totalitarian dystopia works well in this, eventhough it is neither very new nor very subtle (originally Brazil was supposed to be called 1984 ½).

Number six: When I first watched this film I imagined how some stoner computer game programmer saw it and then invented Super Mario by copying the character of Harry Tuttle. That's probably not true but I like the idea so much that I won’t try to find out anytime soon.

Number seven: If you like Brazil, you might enjoy some of the earlier Jean-Pierre Jeunet films like Delicatessen and La Cité des Enfants Perdu.

Number eight: I dreamed a gang of girl ninjas flew through the window in my room after I watched this movie. Please don’t try to interpret this dream for me.

(I probably should also either say something meaningful about plastic surgery or make a witty reference to Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment and silly old people, but this is long enough already. And I hated 10th grade english.)

---

Good luck to the frenchies for their elections today!

9 comments:

0 said...

1) first comment :)
2) i haven't seen brazil, so i mainly comment for your pretty eyes. which are totally worth it ;)
3) i loved delicatessen and la cité des enfants perdus. will i like brazil ? does it work in that way too ?
4) yay ! ségolène is still in the race !
5) i would love to interpret your dream but i won't...

Unknown said...

I loved your review.

Also I love Gilliam as a director and Brazil is one of my favourite films but you're right it has aged to some degree.

Your point about the computer game made me laugh a lot...priceless stuff mate.

-paradroid

ps: The Lives of Others was beautiful. :)

Unknown said...

Also after watching Brazil for the first time when i was 14, I kept dreaming of finging a girl in my bed wearing a ribbon and nothing else...good dreams :)

-paradroid

Magnolia31 said...

Awesome and funny review ! I really enjoyed it !

The comments on the "IMDB" community being "appalled" and about Super Mario were genial !

I need to watch Brazil again, in my memory the aging process has not taken place (what a surprise...)

This movie completely convinced me to never ever have a plastical surgery ;-)

I think you would like it Persona, it has that poetic touch of Delicatessen and La Cité des Enfants Perdus, same reference to a sci fi world, kind of a dream world, although very Kafkaian too.

I totally picture KC on that golden armour btw...

Keep it coming the good reviews and the good vibes !

Anonymous said...

This may actually be the best movie review ever: not only did it inspire me to watch this movie again but it also made me laugh out loud at 9.30 am, which very few things do. :)

PS: Ninjas are awesome.

sparklemotion said...

you are like the cutest thing ever.

EVER.

*hugs matty's blog*

Eve said...

I feel like watching it again now! The only thing I remember about Brazil is that it was River Phoenix's favorite movie and Terry Gilliam was his hero. Someone set up for them to meet, but earlier that day River died :( I know... sorry for the random sad story.

Guls said...

Mat the review was awesome and funny... Thanks for putting a smile on my face.

I am not sure if I watched this film, is it for the book "1984"

Anyways, I think I am gonna go rent it soon...

Looking forward for future reviews.

Cheers.
Guls

nomimalone said...

haha, great review

though i still have to watch this movie in full

also, i enjoyed la cite des enfants perdus very much