The Adventures of Terry Gilliam
Fans of Terry Gilliam will be delighted with his recent picture, "The Zero Theorem". It's about a programmer who is searching for a solution to his existential angst. It's also a satire on the collapsing boundary between work and leisure. (You only need to recall the black hole.) Some will notice the lack of humor, which defines the filmmaker's early works. The Briton never gets tired of eye-popping visuals, and there are lots of it in “Zero”.
Gilliam is a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe, their brand of humor not for the politically correct moviegoers. Think of "Monty Python's Life of Brian", which pokes fun at the life of Jesus Christ. Some believe that the movie alludes to the British political system during the 1970s, but that may be stretching too much. But there's no doubt that the American-born director/screenwriter/comedian has a wild imagination.
Craziness of our awkwardly ordered society
"Time Bandits" (1984) will make the Greek philosophers proud. Gilliam and Michael Palin, co-writers of the script, must be huge fans of Ancient Greece. The story revolves around Kevin, an eleven-year-old boy who often imagines the Olympian deities and demigods who serve them. But his parents are not the least interested in it.
The film is about Kevin's attempts to escape through imagination. Who doesn't want to join Jason and the Argonauts? Who is bold enough to assist Pericles in beheading Medusa? Who likes to accompany Heracles? Gilliam was thinking of something else. Six dwarves spilled out of Kevin's wardrobe one evening, and one of them was holding a mysterious map.
The dwarves ran away from a supreme being, who wanted to get his hands on that parch of paper. It had strange powers, as Kevin and the halflings were transported back to the Napoleonic Wars. They might have perished, until they found themselves in Sherwood Forest. (It would be up to viewers to guess if Robin Hood was real.) Moviegoers were delighted and surprised when Kevin met King Agamemnon.
Kevin led a drab, if not forlorn, existence. The map may be compared to a genie in a bottle. However, he might not expected his parents to disappear, after touching the burned heart of the supreme being. The twisted sense of humor came out of nowhere. What was it for? What would it say about us?
The woman of his dreams
“Brazil” (1985) is a dystopian picture, but it's might not be the kind of story that George Orwell would have in mind. Sam Lowry often daydreams about saving a damsel in distress. He's a low-level government employee, sick of the bureaucracy and the errands he must do.
The story isn't set in South America - and it has nothing to do with the theme song. (It's “Aquarelo do Brasil” by Ary Barroso.) Don't look for Big Brother, as viewers must think hard in able to find the meaning behind a man soaring above Expressionist-like buildings. Expect buffoonery, but there's a romantic aspect to it. Everyone can relate, so it's not hard to figure it out.
