I agree completely. A funny movie, even though I don't find myself constantly laughing. Personally, I always enjoyed the party scene where he finds out Michael Palin's wife got implants and asks only to find out she meant ears and he meant breasts! I guess I told it terribly, but awkward social comedy like that always gets a laugh from me.

Try watching Eraserhead sometime . . .

I'd suggest reading the FAQ, and possibly the screenplay, available here:
http://www.trond.com/brazil/

Brazil is a very dense film, and it's not unusual for a few plot points to slip by in the first viewing.

As for the sense of humor for the film, it's near impossible to explain humor, you either get it or you don't. I'd say the film employs a lot of dark humor, although Tom Stoppard supplied a good amount of wordplay into the script, which even Gilliam didn't get sometimes.

Excellent response . . . I was thinking something along the same lines but couldn't figure out a good way to phrase it. "either you get it or you don't" . . . that's really aobut all you can say. Personally I find it to be a brilliant film.

That website is excellent. I agree that it's nearly impossible to explain why a favorite film is great to someone who doesn't see it in the same way you do.


VERY MILD SPOILERS FOLLOW:

To me, Brazil is a typically overambitious Gilliam film. When Gilliam fails (as I believe he does, for instance, in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), it's usually because his extravagant visuals swallow up the plot, characters, and ideas, and there's nothing left to respond to. I find Brazil to be his most successful film because, for once, everything comes together: staggering eye candy, great ideas, perfect dialog, a (mostly) coherent plot. He gets strong performances from all his actors, but Jonathan Pryce's Sam is the heart & soul of the movie (as he should be). He perfectly conveys an Everyman, romantic, day-dreaming, mid-level bureaucrat who, through a series of improbable circumstances, actually gets the chance to test his heroic mettle.

The humor is mostly satirical: Gilliam, Stoppard, and McKeown are clearly criticizing modern (British) society--soulless bureaucrats, obsession with beauty and youth, the little social lies we tolerate to give an outward appearance of civility, our reluctance to question authority, the way many people prefer a boring, predictable existence instead of pursuing their real dreams--by showing a future in which all of those negative qualities are magnified a thousand times.

What starts off as good-natured satire soon turns dark (with the arrest of Buttle) & Gilliam keeps upping the ante. What seems at first like a comically inept bureacracy is in fact a ruthless totalitarian state. Sam, the unambitious dreamer is suddenly thrust into action--and for the first time in his life he feels truly alive. Gilliam masterfully keeps the viewer off-balance the entire time. Brazil isn't a perfect movie, but there's no doubt in my mind that it's a great movie.

The reason I love Gilliam (if I may use a baseball analogy) is that, even though he's apt to strike out a lot, every time he comes to the plate he's swinging for the bleachers. When he does knock one out of the park (Brazil), it can be very exhilirating.