A scene from 'The Blue Trail'

The Blue Trail review: TIFF 2025

‘The Blue Trail’ follows a woman who defies the government’s definition of elderly and challenges their new regulations.

Tereza (Denise Weinberg) works at an alligator processing plant in Brazil. She has friends inside and outside of work, though she sees little of her busy daughter. At 77, she is still very independent and capable of caring for herself. However, the government accounts for none of this when it begins to project its definition of the elderly onto people like Tereza.

The government imposes a strange, involuntary infantilism on our main character and the rest of the elderly in the film. After a certain age, officials now assume older people can no longer live independently or care for themselves. They disguise their new laws as concern, projecting the idea that after so many years of contributing to the country, they’ve earned a rest… whether they want it or not. Now someone will make decisions for you so you don’t have to worry about anything. But in actuality, it’s a rejection of their autonomy.

Read the full review of The Blue Trail at thatshelf.com

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