Brazil's opening scene flies the audience through a sky full of clouds and declares in bold text that it is, "8:49 p.m. - Somewhere in the Twentieth Century". Completely misleading, the statement allows Brazil to repeatedly surprise the audience with its bizarre, surreal, and grotesque reality. It is a highly exaggerated vision of the Twentieth Century, making it more a representation of a possible future than taking place in the present or past. Brazil's representation of the architectural future can be best described through the exploration of the location used for the exterior of Sam Lowry's apartment, Noisy-le-Grand, the extensive use of technology throughout the film, the interrogation offices and the torture chamber, and the similarities between Brazil and Rio de Janeiro.

The apartment complex of Palacio d’Abraxas, located in Noisy-le-Grand, a commune outside of Paris, was used as the location for the apartment of Sam Lowry. Palacio d'Abraxas, built between 1978 and 1983, was based on the fascist style and was therefore well suited in appearance to match the Orwellian storyline (Viennaslide). The warm colours counteract the comfort they may have been intended to provide as they create a very dark, foreboding environment, one associated with muggings and underhanded business. It also creates volumes that can be observed from many different vantage points throughout the complex.

Rio de Janeiro, constantly associated with it’s beautiful, crescent shaped Copacabana beach bordered by countless high-rises, is completely dominated in terms of built environment by the favelas that cover the hillsides. In some of the densest locations, their arrangement is startlingly similar to that of the Palacio d’Abraxas complex. Structures built tightly together where units at the bottom may get very little daylight are common. However, the living conditions are very different. Some favelas have electricity and plumbing but almost none of the services are legal; nor are the favelas. Drainage is often provided by gravity in open ditches while, “electricity is provided in some (favelas) by concessions granted by the local electrical company” (Evanson, 23). Driven by poverty and class division, the continuation of the favela language in Rio and other similar cities appears to have no end (Evanson, 24), therefore becoming the future of Rio’s architecture.

The interior of Sam’s apartment contrasts greatly in appearance to its exterior with its cold, tiled design and odd bits of technology sticking out haphazardly. The ductwork magnified video screens, automatic toasters, and overcomplicated telephones contribute to the reading of this environment as the architectural future. Though this technology presently exists, and can at times dominate our lives, it has been highlighted in the film to the point that it cannot be ignored. Sam's Mother's apartment has a similar ductwork growth overtaking the living spaces, as does the restaurant at the beginning of the film. It stands as a statement that, in the future, the lives of people will be so dominated by technology that we will eventually be overtaken.

After Sam's capture by the authorities, he is taken through various interrogation spaces and is isolated within a huge cooling tower, acting as a torture chamber. The interrogation spaces were nothing more than cubicles enclosed with translucent, billowing plastic sheeting surrounded by moving silhouettes of officials beyond. The temporary character created by such flimsy construction suggests that quality of the space is not important as it is not inhabited for significant amounts of time, or that the people inhabiting the space are unimportant. It causes the audience to question their own present surroundings, perhaps the office that they spend 37.5 hours a week sitting in a fabric covered cubical; is this the direction that all offices are moving? Contrasting the interrogation areas, the torture chamber is a structure of permanence. Its size and layout dictate that the center of the space is the complete focus of the operation. It has been developed to work effectively as a space that can isolate a prisoner by dominating his size and limiting his escape to one very narrow path. One might imagine that at present, places that serve this function tend to be more temporary and not as assertive in their dark purpose. So this too can be seen as a 'step forward' in the design of institutions of torture.

Though described as taking place "Somewhere in the Twentieth Century", Brazil proves to be more a representation of the architectural future than one of present day. Similarly, Rio de Janeiro is a city of both shantytown and permanent language. As its population increases and no changes in social hierarchy are made, the favelas shall remain a permanent fixture in Rio's future.