The Blue Trail’s Gabriel Mascaro on blending genres, fake snails and filming on boats
Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro‘s latest film, The Blue Trail, is an interesting blend of dystopian, fantasy and coming-of-age genres.
The film, set in a near-future Brazil, tells the story of 77-year-old Tereza (Denise Weinberg), who rebels against the system and refuses to be relocated to a remote colony for elderly citizens. Realising she isn’t ready to give up on her dreams and her freedom, Tereza embarks on a transformative journey through the Amazon, meeting characters such as Cadu (Rodrigo Santoro) and Roberta (Miriam Socarras).
In a recent Zoom interview with Miss Flicks, Mascaro opened up about blending genres, the challenges of shooting on boats, and working with Westworld star Santoro. Here’s that conversation:
It’s so refreshing to see a film that’s led by an older character, and it’s one about finding a new lease of life, rather than, you know, facing death or ill health. I read an interview with you where you said that the jumping-off point was your grandmother learning painting later in life, and I wondered what the inspiration was behind the dystopian society where all the elderly are sent to colonies.
Yes, actually, at some point, as there are not a lot of movies about elderly protagonists in cinema, it was quite difficult to find a lot of reference that could help me to develop this idea. So at some point, I thought about, like mixing, blending different genres that do not accept elderly bodies, like, if you think about coming of age, it’s a genre totally dedicated to young bodies, like the college, the school, first dating, first drink, first drugs. As a society, we do not expect an elderly (character) discovering life. So for me, I start researching, investigating different kind of genres, like dystopia. We as a society, we do not accept elderly being rebels. And that’s why the movie became a bit of a blend of genres, where elderly bodies are dissidents, in terms of traditional storytelling. That’s also why the movie is somehow like playful, lyrical.
How long ago did you start writing your script for this?
Oh, it took me a long time. I’d say almost like 10 years. I was selected by the Hubert Bals Rotterdam Film Festival script development project 10 years ago, and it really took me time, because it’s so difficult.
So you started writing 10 years ago, when did you actually film?
I filmed two years ago, yes, in June and then we premiered last year in Berlin, in February. (It was) quite a long journey, I would say. But (it was) very difficult for me, because there is not a lot of movies that I can like play in terms of reference. You know, sometimes you are doing a movie that, oh, such an amazing reference, because it’s so close that what we want to say, but different enough to be original. So I had no movies like this to make like a shortcut for me. So I had to believe that this blending of dystopia and coming of age could work together. It’s not that easy to connect (them).
Oh, well, I think you proved it with Blue Trail. I’m really intrigued by the process of filming on water. From watching Steven Spielberg talk in the Jaws documentary, I know that filming on boats is very challenging logistically. How do you go about doing that?
It’s so funny because when I was writing a screenplay or doing the revision in the pandemic, at some point I thought, ‘Oh, this is a perfect movie. If the pandemic never finished, this movie is going to be the easiest one, because there’s only two characters, in general, in the middle of the river, only a few people.’ And then when we went to the producing phase and the cinematographer arrived on the set and said, ‘Oh, that’s the boat we’re gonna shoot. Okay. Well, where are you, as a director, you’re gonna be? You’re gonna be seeing everything (so) you need to be in another boat following.’ And then I think, ‘Okay, the electricity, if you have the light I have, I need a boat for the tripods of the light’, and then, we had like seven boats around! Such a nightmare. Let’s say I learned now I shouldn’t write boat scenes anymore in my life.
No more boat scenes for you. There are some incredible locations during this film. How did you find them? Were they all sort of within the same region, or were they quite spread out along the river?
I think it’s in the same region, but with different spots. We had two main cities… as a main centre where we could stay. But once we were there, we would travel a little bit by boat in the rivers, but it was basically two spots that had this kind of like diversity, so we could look like a big, big trip in terms of different context of rivers and, yes, but was magic. Also, we were able to work with more than 20 extras and actors from local Manaus, North region actors. It was so special because Brazil, we are quite used to see(ing) the same faces in Brazilian cinema, and to be able to bring these more than 20 actors and talents from Amazonia is so special.
I wanted to talk about Rodrigo as well. I feel like we see a different side him in this film, to what I’ve seen him in before, like his character is so sad and beaten by the world. How did you get him to come on board for a small but pivotal role?
Yes, actually, Rodrigo watched my movie called Neon Bull, a movie that released 10 years ago, and he became fascinated by the character, the lead protagonist. I do an investigation that goes beyond this ideal of masculinity. So I became very interested in exploring that as well. So he said, ‘When you have something like that, call me’ and yes, in this one as well, because the movie starts as this guy like showing off his self as a free will spirit. But in the end, he discovered with the blue drool snail that he should be back to home and be in love and accept her, you know, the way he was trying to avoid. So he’s the opposite… And for Rodrigo, it was such a special character, because he really studied the small elements of the process, and it was such special for (a crew member) to be able to create this new psychotropic effect (with) the blue drool nail because it doesn’t exist.
I was gonna ask!
Sorry to say. Rodrigo was quite obsessive (about) how does that affect the body? How does the body respond to the blue drool nail effect? So he is a great actor.
And with Denise, I wasn’t familiar with her work myself, but she’s brilliant as this determined, feisty rebel. Can you think of a scene where you were particularly blown away by her performance?
For Denise, I remember I was very touched by the rehearsal, because at some point we were doing the rehearsal for the Cuban actress Miriam Socorrás that plays Roberta in the movie, she arrived from Cuba to do the second old partner. And it was so beautiful to see them two together. You know, I felt that moment that I really had the movie because the chemistry between them was so magical. And I could almost feel like crying during the rehearsal. When you feel that, just the connection between these two old ladies, bodily present in front of the camera, is so powerful.
I think one of the most incredible moments of the shooting was when they two were dancing together, the moment after the massage, they’re like dancing, drinking. It was so beautiful to see that two old lady buddies like enjoying and creating some kind of complicity for life, without necessarily a label that we recognise, because it’s a movie that has elements of queer atmosphere. But we, as an artist, we understand that, but they do not think about this, you know, they’re just living. They’re just experiencing life.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
Where do you think her story goes from where the film ends? Do you think she carries on living on the boat with Roberta?
That’s a great question. Actually, of course, I had the screenplay scene where, at some point, she would fly (in a plane)… But it’s curious because if it was a dollar-cent movie, I should have finished with the flight, but at some point (I thought)… if she flies, there is like a (completion) that solves, that you think about, ‘Okay, now she can die because she achieved what she was dreaming.’ There’s a feeling of like a final achievement that wasn’t what I was looking for. So I had to go a step back and it became a movie, not about the woman that wants to fly and she flies, but a movie (about) a woman that wants to fly, and in the end, she discovered that she can fly even higher than she imagined she’d be able to.
As you said, you’ve been touring with the film since Berlin last year. Have you had a chance to take in the positive reception? Has any of the feedback surprised you?
Yes, for me, it’s very beautiful to see the retired people watching this movie, because they have such a specific response, because they are like the same, sometimes the same age, and they have the capacity of feeling the humour tone, but also feeling how serious the aspects the movie are addressing. But watching young people watching the movies is beautiful, because the capacity the movie generates, this inspiration of freedom from a character that they have never associated to receive freedom. (We think) the young people are able to be rebels. The young people are fighting for politics change. We project a lot of elements and association of freedom and (rebellion) and passion for life to the young body, but to see that for the first time in this movie, it is so flourishing because it’s beautiful to be able to recognise freedom in a body with lots of wrinkles.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity
The Blue Trail is in U.K. cinemas from Friday 17th April. Read my review here.