Like many people have said, Brazil takes place in this weird middle ground between past and future, leading me to believe that Brazil takes place much closer to the present than it seems. Due to this quasi-present time period, the audience automatically relates to the characters, plot points, and the world Gilliam has created in the film. As we have talked about before, a film that is relatable is a fail-proof way to get the point across to the audience with ease, and I think this is why Gilliam chooses this "generally identifiable yet also quite specific" time period. The audience better understands Sam's madness because we pick out similarities between his life and our own; the bureaucracy and red tape often seem at odds with common sense, technology creates unforeseeable problems, and Sam goes to great lengths to protect the woman he loves. Because of the similarities between Brazil's present and our own, we sympathize with Sam and are more likely to see him as a man giving up his career and life for another person rather than a spurned government employee who defrauds his country.
I have not seen The Matrix so I cannot make an educated point about the use of the future in the film. However, I have seen CJ and Nehemaiah's version of the film, so if I were to comment on what the audience gets from their representation of the future, I would say that the future looks a whole lot like Bethesda.
Rethink your position. It's stating the obvious that familiarity helps us relate to a film. But all films have a sense of familiarity to them, even films set in the future. If they didn't, we'd be totally confused when we watched them. I don't get how computers with tiny monitors makes Sam more sympathetic. Doesn't add up.
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