The Blue Trail – Film Review
by Brian Merriman

Written and Directed by Gabriel Mascaro
Written by  Tibério Azul and Murilo Hauser
Starring  Denise Weinberg, Rodrigo Santoro and Miriam Socarras
Cinematography by Guillermo Garza

Duration 85 minutes – A Brazil-Mexico-Chile film.

It is not often that you see a film starring older actors. We are in a near future, in an authoritarian-ruled Brazil, that while publicly lauding the virtues of its older people, is secretly pointing out their age and compulsorily removes them to live in Colonies, somewhere out of sight. We are unsure of their real fate. The culture of dependency is promoted even when it is not needed. Older people aged 75 and above are placed in the custody of their adult children and must have their permission to make even the simplest purchases. It says a lot about ageism.

Tereza (Denise Weinberg) still works in a food factory, but the recent government reduction of the age range for removal from 80 to 75 means she now loses her job and is tagged for removal. She has other retirement ambitions. She wants to fly in an aeroplane, but has her opportunity slipped by with these new rules?

Main Actor Denise Weinberg was born in 1956, and she brings thoughtful depth, a ruggedness and a determination to a role not overly burdened by dialogue. Her wonderful face tells a lifetime of stories. She absconds from the intrusive supervision, including the ‘wrinkle wagon’ that rounds up the elderly, to pursue her dream on her own terms. She encounters two main characters along the way, a river trader called Cadu (Rodrigo Santoro), who introduces her to the hallucinating powers of a blue snail, which clarifies the future. She keenly observes the present.

And so her journey begins. She finds a way to elude capture, takes risks, is conned and gambles her future to prove beyond doubt that there is life to be lived with each new day, regardless of age. Then, she bumps into Roberta (a gritty, hearty Miriam Soccarras), a river ‘nun’ who sells virtual Bibles from the deck of her houseboat. She and Tereza become soul mates and continue their adventure on the River. The intimacy between the women is fresh and real.

Cinematographer Guillermo Garza has a visual feast in store for us as he brings us on a river adventure through an exquisite and lush Amazonian backdrop. It is visually breathtaking, beguiling and impressive. The script seems very tightly edited, and can be funny, though it is sometimes abrupt. The plot does not resolve itself as such, and leaves us pondering what will become of these two feisty, intimate river sailors in their twilight years.

The Blue Trail reminds us, like On Golden Pond did, of the value of casting seasoned performers to play characters that rely on their life experience to narrate their stories. The two women, Tereza and Roberta, are an inspiration of ongoing independence and guile. The Blue Trail has the pace expected from a long and lovely river cruise. It never finally docks, and maybe that’s a good thing too?