If you dread the thought of another film celebrating the wonderful lives of elderly people, you might enjoy The Blue Trail. Unlike those formula romances aimed at the ‘seniors market’, such as the Exotic Marigold Hotel, Brazilian director, Gabriel Mascaro, has given us a much tougher, dystopian window onto old age. It should come as no surprise that his mildly science fictional portrayal of a world in which elders are treated as social liabilities is a lot more inspiring than any sentimental bilge intended to make oldies feel good about themselves.
For those of us born in the 60s, old age may be the next big adventure, but it’s a journey best undertaken in a spirit of activity. It’s inspiring to know people who refuse to submit to the stereotypes associated with aging. Health permitting, it’s a time when one can see things with exceptional clarity. Ideally, life should be what we make of it, so long as we are able.
This is roughly the message of The Blue Trail, although it’s too crude to sum up this film so neatly. The story is set in Brazil in the near future, when the government has embarked on a policy of what might be called mandatory detention for people over the age of 75. Upon reaching that milestone, citizens are rounded up and sent to retirement colonies where they will be cared for – regardless of their wishes or their state of health.