First, I feel I should warn those of you who browse the aisles of your local video store impatiently searching for a title that arouses your interests. You're so impatient, in fact, that by the time you get to the "B's" in the drama section, you're panicked that a good time will escape you, so you reach for "Brazilian Booty Call". Frack! Checked out! But next to it is "Brazil" which is probably a collection of those late-night extravaganzas on E with Brooke Burke. This will do. But that's what I wanted to warn you about... this is not what you're expecting!
The movie can probably be summarized by the original poster, illustrated below.
It starts out when a normal man's head suddenly explodes with a burst of sunlight, puffy clouds, a semi-nude angel, and a blue sky on Mars. (Also, I can't be sure, but I may have spotted a midget in the Criterion version. I'll check on that later.) This heady explosion was the result of too much government interference in everyday life, or what historians would now call The Clinton Years. The sheer volume of government programs created for the greater good require so much paperwork that one of the uncredited villains in the movie is papercut.
Brazil and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy both poke so much fun at British structure -- lines and proper forms -- that I sometimes want to visit the old island just to bear witness. But then I remember that there aren't many attractive locals in England, and worse, there's no chance their video stores even stock Brazilian Booty Call.