by Ben Spatz
Incomplete Filmography:
Monty Python (MP)
Brazil (B)
The Fisher King (FK)
Twelve Monkeys (TM)
Gilliam always deals with two parallel worlds: One represents our gritty modern world, and the other is a mytho-archetypal fantasy intervention on that world.
In B and FK, the fantasy world is really just one person's fantasy. In TM, the question of which world is "real" is raised by the main character. The first shot in B is of the fantasy world, which is then revealed to be a dream. FK begins with the real world. TM is different because the main character primarily inhabits the fantasy world, while his love interest is in the real world. Also, in TM both worlds are equally true.
FK is so uplifting because the fantasy goal (getting the grail) is accomplished and valided in the real world (the grail works a miracle in New York City). TM is sad because the main character dies, but the fantasy world goal (to track down the origin of the virus) is still accomplished: the fantasy world still sort of triumphs over reality, even though the ending is somewhat dark. But B is so upsetting because the fantasy world is revealed to be an utter DELUSION, rather than an ILLUSION which is somehow USEFUL in the real world.
In other words, the fantasy world in B is negative. In FK, it is problematic and must eventually be gotten of, but it is also crucial to the resolution of the plot. In TM, the fantasy world is actually true, and it's bad when the main character begins to doubt it.
All three movies use a certain awesome interface between the paralle worlds, in which you see one object in the real world replaced onscreen by a corresponding object from the fantasy world. In B, the guards are replaced by the huge samurai nemesis. In FK, the memories of Parry's wife's death are replaced by the image of the red knight. And in TM, the buildings in the final scene are replaced by Cole's memory of those buildings in the future. In all three cases there is a striking contrast between the grey industrialism of the real world and the colorful imagery of the fantasy world.