"It's only a state of mind."
Brazil - Movie Quotes
Memorable Quotes
Listen, kid, we're all in it together.
— Harry Tuttle
Context:
Tuttle says this to Sam while illegally fixing his air conditioning, establishing himself as a renegade who actually cares about helping others.
Meaning:
A rare expression of solidarity in an otherwise deeply selfish, paranoid, and disconnected society [1.12].
I came into this game for the action, the excitement. Go anywhere, travel light, get in, get out, wherever there's trouble, a man alone. Now they got the whole country sectioned off, you can't make a move without a form.
— Harry Tuttle
Context:
Tuttle explains to Sam why he went rogue and left Central Services to become an independent, illegal repairman.
Meaning:
It highlights the absurdity of the dystopian society—even an air-conditioning repairman feels like a swashbuckling outlaw because the bureaucracy is so restrictive.
Information Transit got the wrong man. I got the *right* man. The wrong one was delivered to me as the right man, I accepted him on good faith as the right man. Was I wrong?
— Jack Lint
Context:
Jack defends his role in the torture and death of the innocent Mr. Buttle, refusing to take any moral responsibility for the fatal mistake.
Meaning:
This is the ultimate bureaucratic justification for evil. It demonstrates how systems pass the blame, ensuring no individual feels responsible for atrocities like torturing an innocent man to death.
This is your receipt for your husband... and this is my receipt for your receipt.
— Arresting Officer
Context:
The Ministry officers say this to Mrs. Buttle immediately after violently kidnapping her husband in the middle of the night.
Meaning:
A bleakly hilarious summation of the film's core theme: the state values procedural paperwork over human emotion, even in the face of a terrifying abduction.
My complication had a little complication.
— Mrs. Terrain
Context:
Mrs. Terrain explains the horrific deterioration of her face following botched plastic surgeries, all while maintaining a polite, conversational tone.
Meaning:
This line serves as dark comedy highlighting the absurd lengths the elite will go to for youth, ignoring the literal rot of their own bodies.