The Blue Trail
Brazilian drama about a near future in which elderly people are ‘phased out’ when they are no longer of economic use. The 77-year-old Tereza won’t accept that. Winner of the Silver Bear (Grand Jury Prize) in Berlin.
Tereza is forced by the Brazilian government to move to a remote colony for seniors. Instead of spending her final years in a state-run living environment, she embarks on a daring journey into the Amazon to fulfil a lifelong dream: to finally fly in an aeroplane. However, the government does not allow seniors to purchase airline tickets without their children’s permission. Tereza does not let this discourage her and gets help from a boatman who also introduces her to the psychedelic effects of the slime of a rare snail.
The Blue Trail is a witty, moving and anti-authoritarian fable tinged with magical realism. Mascaro combines political satire with poetic images of the rainforest and shows that resistance can also be gentle and deeply personal. (lw)