Abstract
“1984 is about 1948. I made a film about today.” told Terry Gilliam to the Cahiers du cinéma in April 1984. Concerning two films which were nearly made the same year and which both seemed to talk about the same thing (oppression in society), it is indeed very interesting to make a comparison so as to discuss which film is closer to our modern society and on which inspirations both were made.
In the first place, it seems very important to talk about aesthetics which brings a deep contrast between these two movies.
Indeed, 1984 is clearly shot in a post second world war aesthetic. I mean that the entire place seems to have been destroyed long ago and that nobody tried to rebuild the city. The furniture – where there is some – is old. Streets are dirty, dusty and quite deserted. The dining room of the minister seems completely out of technology. Rooms are always dark and there is no comfort at all. This is even much suggested by the flash-backs happening during the war when Winston Smith is a little boy. Winston also seems sick (he is always coughing). This is obviously not a pleasant society to live in. It depicts miserable people and lives.
On the contrary, in Brazil, even if we're clearly in an urban environment, with high and grey buildings, we do not have the same society. Comfort is an important thing : the Buttle's are not very rich, but they do have a TV set, a sofa etc. It's the same for Sam, whose apartment is particularly modern, even if his technology doesn't seem to work very well (the phone, the alarm, the toaster, the air conditioning… he keeps having problems with everyday life objects). And when we come to Ida's place or in the restaurant, we have the vision of what luxury can be in this particular society.
