The 1985 dystopian film directed by Terry Gilliam about a man fighting a bureaucratic nightmare is Brazil. Jonathan Pryce plays Sam Lowry, a low-ranking government employee trapped in a polluted, hyper-bureaucratic society where paperwork, surveillance, and malfunctioning technology control everyday life.
The story begins with an administrative error: a misprinted arrest warrant causes the wrong man, Archibald Buttle, to be detained and killed during interrogation. Sam discovers the mistake while trying to correct the resulting financial charge. His search for Buttle's widow and her neighbor, Jill Layton, draws him into a conspiracy that makes him a target of the same system he once served.
Brazil blends dystopian science fiction, black comedy, absurdism, and dream imagery. Its visual design combines retro-futurist machinery with endless offices and oppressive government departments. The title does not refer to the country; it comes from the recurring song "Aquarela do Brasil," known in English-speaking Britain simply as "Brazil." The film was initially divisive but later became a major cult classic.