Up until six weeks ago, I hadn't seen any of Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro's films, but after my recent screening of “The Blue Trail”, I am happy to say that I have now seen them all. I think what I love most about Mascaro's films is that they are all so different from one another, and yet it is obvious he cares about Brazil as he fills his stories with social commentary regarding his country. “The Blue Trail” is his ode to the elderly, and the way he feels his country treats them once they reach a certain age. I found it to be a magnificent film, his best to date, and quite a moving experience.
The world of “The Blue Trail” is set in a near-future, dystopian version of Brazil, where citizens of the older variety are shipped off to live in a colony for the rest of their days, once they have turned the ripe old age of 75 (which used to be 80, but the government has recently dropped the age limit). The reason for this, the government touts it is to let the elderly relax after working their whole lives, but in actual fact this is just spin, as the real reason is to ensure productivity is not affected due to the elderly's slowing functions. As soon as you become of age, you are forced to stop working (whether you want to or not, nor if you are still able to do the job or not), you are put under the guardianship of a loved one, fitted for your diaper in preparation for the journey to the colony, and then given a week to tie up any loose ends. Our main character, Tereza, is 77, and unaware that the age of forced retirement had been dropped to 75, cannot believe that her life is essentially done, and after hearing that no-one has ever returned from the colony, wants nothing to do with it. However her attempts at getting an extension are regularly thwarted due to the fact that every bureaucratic decision in her life from now on, has to be run by her daughter, who is now Tereza's legal guardian, and thus has the final say over everything. Tereza understands she has to flee, as she tries to follow her dreams that she has yet to live out, because she is convinced her life is not over, and she has plenty more to give, see and do before she is truly done.
I must say that I am a huge fan of films set in dystopian futures or have some sci-fi element attached to them, where the world is essentially the same as it is today, except for a few smaller changes. Not the grand spectacles of the future where flying cars rule the airspace where everyone wears a spacesuit, I like smaller stories where we can still recognise a resemblance to our world today, as it makes the tale so much more relatable. This is exactly what “The Blue Trail” does, and another thing that I really loved about it was its beautifully quiet ambience and peaceful atmosphere to it all. It is actually a lovely gentle film, about an old woman realising just how much she is worth and how much she still has to give, even at her advanced age. “The Blue Trail” plays something like a road movie, except on water, as Tereza comes across a number of new and interesting characters on her journey to freedom. Her interactions with these people, as she starts to see the world in a way she never has before, and the connections she makes is what makes “The Blue Trail” such a great experience.
Director Gabriel Mascaro is known for his bold use of colour in his films, usually using neon or electric versions of colours to great effect. As you would expect, “The Blue Trail” looks stunning and has been beautifully designed although Mascaro's use of colour is more muted here, going for a more realistic look to his world. That said, he does make sure that the colour blue exists somewhere in (almost) every frame of his film. This time around, Mascaro and his cinematographer Guillermo Garza have decided to shoot “The Blue Trail” in the 4x3 square aspect ratio to give the film a more intimate look (and perhaps to highlight the walls closing in on Tereza), and it looks stunning. There are a couple of scenes that take place in an abandoned and overgrown park, with large statues of wild animals throughout, that look outstanding and out of another world. However the single greatest visual moment in “The Blue Trail” happens late in the film when Tereza finds herself at a gambling den where patrons are betting on fighting fish who fight to the death. I have no idea if these fights are real or special effects (although I suspect they are real), but the way the battle between these fish has been shot, I couldn't believe how unbelievably beautiful it was. It is a strange mixture of fast and slow motion, shot against a deep, black background which makes the white and red of each individual fish just pop. The way the fish move throughout the fight is almost like a ballet, the way their fins and tails move, and the shot of the loser falling to the bottom of the tank is something else entirely. I could not believe I found something so brutal to be so pictorially beautiful.
One aspect of the film that I love is the film's clever title, which has two meanings. “The Blue Trail” signifies the long journey Tereza takes down the river towards her freedom, but it also has to do with the blue trail snail, an almost mythical creature in the film, whose rare blue drool has magical qualities that makes you see into your future, if you drop the drool into your eye. The drool acts as an hallucinogen and gives Mascaro a chance to use his trademark electric blue in the film, and have fun visually, as the drool stains the user's eyes blue while it is in effect. Whether you truly see your future or you just get high off the drool (as Tereza says “what future does a 77 year old person have”), we are never told, but it is a fantastic element added to the film.
It is very rare today to see films about the elderly and their plight, or even to just have an older actor play a significant role in a film, and I am sure this is part of the Mascaro's reasoning for making “The Blue Trail” to rectify this. His leading lady is Denise Weinberg, who is apparently a theatre actress, but she is absolutely wonderful in the role of Tereza. Like the whole of the film she is in, Weinberg has a quiet personality onscreen despite the determined resolve she imbues her character with. She never makes big or loud gestures no matter how frustrated she gets in this very unfair situation. It is a fairly internalised performance, almost like she is quietly cataloguing her life and determining that she is not yet done and she has so much more she wants to see and do. There is a moment in the film when Tereza is questioned why she hasn't been on a plane before (which is her dream to do before heading to the colony) and she replies that she has had no time, working two jobs to bring up her daughter as a single mum. It is sad that now when she finally has the time for herself, the government of Brazil is taking that away from her, but Tereza doesn't rant or rave, but rather tries to explain her situation in hopes of some empathy. Weinberg is given one chance to really let loose in the film and that is at the end when she is at the gambling den cheering on her fighting fish. It is hilarious, as this is the first time in her life that Tereza has gambled, and she is so ferocious in her cheering it is like a beast has been unleashed from within her; a very different side to Tereza than anything we have seen before. Another aspect of both Denise Weinberg and her character Tereza that I loved was the indifference she shows towards the government and how she isn't swayed by the ridiculous and pompous pageantry afforded to her at the beginning of the film when they give her a medal for long time service, and decorate her front door in celebration. She understands its faux recognition, and that the government do not really care, and it is a type of spin to ready her before she is shipped off to the colony. Tereza understands the world she lives in exactly.
I mentioned how I like films set in the future with small and subtle futuristic elements, and one thing I thought was very funny, if also a little cruel, was something that has been dubbed “the wrinkle wagon”, which is a cage attached to the back of a police car fitted with seats, that is used to transport the elderly who do not want to leave when their time is up. Having it so that everyone can see exactly who is in the cage is kind of like a “name them and shame them” moment as they look so sad, seat-belted into their chair in the cage. Another thing is the digital bible that Tereza's friend, who is nicknamed “the nun”, sells which has the entire bible on a plastic tablet that you can swipe through page by page. Of course, there is also the magical snail of the title too which is a beautiful visual element to the film. These are tiny elements within “The Blue Trail” that add so much to this futuristic world to make it more grounded and real.
Very briefly I want to mention the colony, which is never seen in the film, but regularly alluded to. Whilst it is never explicitly explained in the film, to me it felt like the colony was essentially the same as the concentration camps of World War II, and that the elderly were actually being exterminated once they reached an age when the government feels they are no longer useful for society. The fact that no one is ever seen again once they go to the colony, or the fact that the colony cannot be visited by loved ones, seems to confirm my suspicions. This is a dark element to “The Blue Trail”, but it exists in the background as the film is not about the colony itself, rather it is about finding beauty in the world and exploring it further until you, yourself, decide your time is up.
Overall, I absolutely loved “The Blue Trail” and think it is Gabriel Mascaro's finest film to date. It is a slow moving, and quiet film that is deliberately paced, and gorgeous to look at, whilst highlighting the plights of the elderly and the disposable attitude we have towards them, after they have done so much for us in the past. It is thought provoking and a beautifully emotional experience for both Tereza, and the audience of “The Blue Trail”. I highly recommend it.
4 Stars.
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