"Escape! No Escape!"

Escape! No Escape!

In 1985, Monty Python alumni Terry Gilliam released Brazil which is considered by many to be his magnum opus. The film is heavily inspired by George Orwell’s novel 1984, with both taking place in a society that is under the ruling of a totalitarian government. Gilliam’s film however focuses on the corruption of government and bureaucracy, and how society has become slaves to commercialism. The most powerful part of the film is the ending, which sees the main character Sam captured and interrogated by the state. Just as he is about to be lobotomized, he is rescued by his friend and manages to escape the totalitarian regime of Brazil with the woman of his dreams. As the film ends, we see Sam out in the countryside that he envisioned in his dreams, just when the film is about to end we soon realize that it was all in his head. Finally, the film cuts to a close up of Sam looking sedated but humming the theme of the film, the camera then cuts to an extreme interior wide shot of the cooling tower where Sam is being held and slowly start to hear him sing "Brazil."

Very rarely does a film’s score manage to create an audible image for the film, but Michael Kamen’s score for 1985's Brazil manages to transfer what was once a visual experience into an audible experience that packs just as much of a punch as the film itself. Each track is used to maximize Gilliam’s idea of bureaucracy slowly beginning to smother society, and how dreams are the only way humans find tranquility. An example of this, is the track titled “The Office” used during a scene that shows us the chaotic workplace of a bureaucrat. A film’s score is often used to aid the film in providing an extra level of emotion, but they only work if you have seen the film first. The difference with Kamen’s score, is that he manages to create the same effect one gets from a first viewing.

For many, an amazing film is nothing without an amazing score and a composer is tasked with establishing an audible feeling of emotion to match each scene. Most of the time a composer focuses on creating music for the film itself as well as the characters who occupy it. Each character is provided with a theme that best symbolizes their position/role in the film, these are called leitmotifs. Some of the most famous pieces of music in film are leitmotifs (Indiana Jones’s theme, Darth Vader theme, Jaws theme), each score provides the audience with a message that says “they’re coming.” However, films like Terry Gilliam’s 1985 film Brazil manage to break the standard rule for music in film by providing a stronger leitmotif for the fictional city itself and a weaker leitmotif for the characters themselves. One of the best examples of this is when Robert De Niro’s character (Harry Tuttle) enters and exits a scene the same Superman-esque theme is heard, therefore providing the audience with the idea that De Niro’s character is the hero. However, when his character is killed (Spoiler Alert) the music provided is much more unique and non-distinct due to the fact that his character was killed by the city itself, and the one weapon he could not stand: paperwork.

Going back to what I mentioned previously, a movie’s score requires a certain quality that can help separate itself from other films (mainly because a lot of films borrow from each other). Composers like Giorgio Moroder have managed to establish themselves and their music through their distinct use of synthesizers. What makes Michael Kamen’s work on Brazil so legendary, is the fact that his entire score is composed of different variations of the same song, the song is Geoff and Maria Muldaur’s 1968 song of the same name. As mentioned previously the track titled “The Office” gives the audience a look into the chaotic workplace of a bureaucrat, but if one listens carefully to the track they will hear the original song within the variation. What makes this all the more interesting, is the fact that it is like this for the entirety of Kamen’s score: one song composed of multiple variations.

My favorite example of this effect, is the second to last track on the album titled “Escape! No Escape!” which is used towards the end of the film during the main character’s escape. The reason for this, is because the whole movie revolves around this one man and his quest to find the girl of his dreams, in a society where the focus is on bureaucracy. We follow him through this drab world and slowly start to see him develop into a protagonist that we care for. When he’s captured, we know that he is going to come out victorious because he is the hero. Throughout the film we watch him learn to take control of his life by fighting back against the system, and just when it looks like he is finally going to receive the ending that he deserves, in a matter of seconds it is taken away from him. Michael Kamen’s track manages to sum up an entire plot twist within a millisecond and a simple key change. On top of this, after the key change symbolizing the plot twist, the music immediately changes from an orchestral score, to a samba variation of the main song. This change can symbolize the film’s government and the fact that it is willing to put more effort into acting like nothing happened and that they are not corrupt, than honing up to their mistakes and their corrupt nature.