The Blue Trail (2026)

A film by Director Gabriel Mascaro (Portugese with English sub-titles)

From time to time, Palace Cinema sends an invitation to see a new movie - not ‘Hollywood blockbusters’ but art-house movies (usually with sub-titles). Some are ‘a taste to be acquired’, and sometimes there are real gems. It is an enjoyable experience, partly because of the setting - a small cinema in South Melbourne, non-descript from the street frontage but always warm and hospitable. Apart from the cinema, there is also audio recording and production for film, music, television, radio, gaming and online content on site.

Anyway, back to this week’s movie, The Blue Trail, written by Gabriel Mascaro and Tibério Azul, with Denise Weinberg in the lead role.

I enjoyed it, though the consensus in the foyer afterwards seemed to have mixed opinions.

The film is set in the not-too-distant future in Brazil. It’s a dystopian world where seniors are removed from their work and carted off to the ‘colony’ where they are never heard from again. The age was 80, and now reduced to 75 years of age. Being in my 70’s now, it may have piqued my interest a bit more. Still more time for learning, contributing, laughing, enjoying life.

The central character arrives home from her work to find a Government official hammering giant metal laurels on the door of her shack. She’s told that it’s a tribute to the elderly, though she’s not convinced. “Since when was getting older an honour?”

Of course, the laurels are a ‘marker’ to show there is an elderly person in the house. In this dystopian fable, seniors are systematically removed from their homes, communities and workplaces to wherever the ‘colony’ is. Apparently, they are a burden to their children, and an impediment to younger people securing work.

The central character is Tereza, aged 77. She is clearly self-sufficient and perfectly capable of caring for herself. She is still gainfully employed in her factory job, a good and dutiful employee. She thought she had 3 more years before she had to report to the ‘colony’. But, the Government has lowered the age to 75 and now her days are numbered before she will lose her freedom, carted off in a ‘wrinkle wagon’.

But, there are still things she wants to do.

It reminded me of dear Sir Sam Neill’s quote from a touching 2023 interview on ABC’s Australian Story, where he reflected on his stage-three blood cancer diagnosis at the time, and said:

I’m not in any way frightened of dying... But I would be annoyed. I’d be annoyed because there are things I still want to do.

Still things I want to do.

For Sam, he wanted to be able to watch his grandchildren grow up and see his olive and cypress trees in New Zealand mature, and enjoy the fruits of his vineyard. He made the most of the time he had in the extra chapter of his life. He also completed four yet-to-be-released movies before his death this month aged 78.
(Rest in peace, Sam ❤️)

For Tereza, it’s a simple wish before she must go to the colony - to fly in a plane. It’s a modest bucket list request. But she is thwarted because she needs her adult daughter’s permission to travel (the law has put Tereza and her financials in the custody of her daughter). On her first attempt, she ends up being transported back home. But she is resourceful, and does a ‘Thelma and Louise’ - a stubborn and determined elder on the run. She takes risks and trusts her instincts. She find a ‘no frills’ boat and convinces the rather dishevelled captain to take her on board to a town where she might be able to fly in an ultra light plane (since she can’t find any way to get a ticket on a commercial flight).

Unlike the bleak world of many dystopian movies, Tereza’s adventures are in a lush and beautiful setting, as the boat meanders along the river. Plenty of adventures and new people that Tereza meets along the way. She learns to drive a boat. She learns about hallucinogenic blue sludge from a rare snail that seems to provide a path to enlightenment when dripped into the eye. She has an encounter with fighting fish and gambling. And meets a woman on a boat selling e-bibles for $25 to people along the river, even though she’s not religious herself. But she has a certificate that enables her cherished freedom despite being ‘of an age’.

Through her adventures, Tereza literally lets her grey hair down and enjoys the company she keeps. She is not daunted by the challenges she faces, and is certainly not ready to fade into the sunset. She’s no longer bound by the rules that have governed her life. She laughs and dances and embraces new adventures and possibilities.

In addition to Tereza’s story of liberation, it also highlights the way that Government policies can discard people when they are no longer seen as productive and contributing to the economy, when they are deemed a burden rather than an asset. Such disregard for the dignity of each person is demonstrably easy to carry out. It just needs people willing to carry out the policies (eg ICE agents, officials who implemented the stolen generations policies, yellow stars on Jewish people), along with mass apathy by people who look away, who don’t question what is being done, or feel helpless to address the issues. It certainly stands in contrast to societies where elders are honoured, and their wisdom valued.

I enjoyed The Blue Trail and think it would generate great conversations afterwards.

‘The Blue Trail’ was awarded the second top prize, the Silver Bear, by the Berlin Film Festival jury.