The Blue Trail
2025 Brazilian film

The Blue Trail
Theatrical release poster
PortugueseO Último Azul
Directed byGabriel Mascaro
Written by
  • Tibério Azul
  • Gabriel Mascaro
Produced by
  • Rachel Daisy Ellis
  • Sandino Saravia Vinay
Starring
CinematographyGuillermo Garza
Edited by
Music byMemo Guerra
Production
companies
  • Desvia Filmes
  • Cinevinay
  • Viking Film
  • Quijote Cine
Distributed by
  • Vitrine Filmes
  • Cinemart
Release dates
  • 16 February 2025 (2025-02-16) (Berlinale)
  • 28 August 2025 (2025-08-28) (Brazil)
Running time
85 minutes
Countries
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
  • Chile
  • Netherlands
Language
  • Portuguese

The Blue Trail (Portuguese: O Último Azul) is a 2025 dystopian drama film directed by Gabriel Mascaro. Starring Denise Weinberg and Rodrigo Santoro, the film follows the 77-year-old Tereza, forced to retire from her job and placed under the guardianship of her daughter, who defies a government order for relocation imposed to its growing elderly population, embarking instead on a personal journey through the Amazon.[1]

It had its world premiere at the main competition of the 75th Berlin International Film Festival,[2] on 16 February 2025, where it won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize.[3]

Synopsis

In an effort to boost the economy, the government creates distant colonies for the elderly, ensuring them a comfortable end to their lives. Teresa, a 77-year-old finds herself unexpectedly included in the program due to a lowered age threshold. With only days left before her relocation, she decides to defy her fate and embarks on a journey through the Amazon to fulfill one last wish: to take her first airplane ride. Because permission is refused, she secretly embarks on a boat trip as an illicit passenger and has numerous encounters along the way. Despite setbacks and near failures to her plans, she is able to use her life's savings to find happiness.

Cast

The cast and the director of the film at the Berlinale, (from L to R) Miriam Socorrás, Rodrigo Santoro, Gabriel Mascaro, Denise Weinberg and Adanilo
  • Denise Weinberg as Tereza
  • Rodrigo Santoro as Cadu
  • Miriam Socorrás as Roberta
  • Adanilo as Ludemir

Release

The Blue Trail had its world premiere on 16 February 2025, as part of the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, in competition.[4][5][6]

Lucky Number, a new Paris-based sales company, acquired sales rights for the film in January 2025 as part of its inaugural roster.[7]

The film was screened in Les Auteurs at the 49th Hong Kong International Film Festival on 18 April 2025,[8][9] and in Sydney, Australia at the 72nd Sydney Film Festival[10] The film was also part of Horizons section of the 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it was screened from 4 July to 9 July 2025.[11]

The Blue Trail competed in the Latin American Fiction at the 29th Lima Film Festival for Trophy Spondylus in August 2025.[12]

The film was screened in Centrepiece section of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September 2025.[13][14] It was also screened as part of World Cinema at the 2025 Atlantic International Film Festival on September 14, 2025.[15] It was also presented in the World Cinema section at the 30th Busan International Film Festival on 18 September 2025.[16]

On 2 October 2025, it was showcased in Showcase section of 2025 Vancouver International Film Festival.[17] Later it competed in the 'Official Section' of the 70th Valladolid International Film Festival for Golden Spike.[18][19] and screened in the International Panorama for its Quebec Premiere at the 2025 Festival du nouveau cinéma on October 13, 2025.[20]

On 28 October 2025, the film was showcased at the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival in 'World Focus' section.[21][22]

It was screened in Special Screenings at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival on 6 November 2025,[23] and in Open Zone section of the 2025 Stockholm International Film Festival on 7 November 2025.[24]

It was presented in the 'Screen International Critics' Choice' at the 29th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival on 7 November 2025.[25]

It competed in the Main Program Together Again at the Zagreb Film Festival for Golden Pram Award on 13 November 2025.[26] Seven days later on 20 November, it will open 56th International Film Festival of India.[27]

The film will be screened in the World Cinema Now section of the 37th Palm Springs International Film Festival on 4 January 2026.[28]

The film was shortlisted along with other five films as the Brazil‘s Oscar submission for 98th Academy Awards.[29]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 25 critics' reviews are positive.[30]

Peter Debruge reviewing at Berlin Film Festival, for Variety wrote, "[Gabriel Mascaro] has always had an incredible visual sense, though his plots tend to lack focus. Not this one." Debruge ended his review with a poetic touch, saying that although Tereza's journey is only 86 minutes long, it’s packed with unforgettable scenes—like a huge pile of tires returned to the forest, a strange graveyard of theme park pieces, and a small boat gliding through a winding river, almost like it’s flying.[31]

Accolades

Gabriel Mascaro, Winner of Silver Bear of Berlinale 2025
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient Result Ref.
Berlin International Film Festival 23 February 2025 Golden Bear The Blue Trail Nominated [32]
Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize Won [33]
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Won [34]
Berliner Morgenpost Readers' Jury Award (de) Won
Guadalajara International Film Festival 14 June 2025 Best Ibero-American Fiction Film Won
[35]
Lima Film Festival 16 September 2025 Trophy Spondylus Nominated
[36][37]
Valladolid International Film Festival 1 November 2025 Golden Spike Nominated [38]
Young Jury Award Official Section Won [39]

See also

References

  1. ^ "O último azul" [The Blue Trail]. Desvia (in Portuguese). 12 September 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  2. ^ Rosser, Michael (21 January 2025). "Berlin film festival reveals 2025 competition line-up 2025". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  3. ^ Ntim, Zac (22 February 2025). "Berlin Film Festival: Norwegian Film 'Dreams (Sex Love)' Wins Golden Bear, Andrew Scott & Rose Byrne Take Acting Honors — Full List". Deadline. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  4. ^ Davide Abbatescianni (21 January 2025). "The Berlinale unveils the titles playing in Competition and its Perspectives and Berlinale Special strands". Cineuropa. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  5. ^ Ntim, Zac (22 January 2025). "Berlin Film Festival Lineup: Richard Linklater, Jessica Chastain, A$AP Rocky & Marion Cotillard Movies Among Vibrant Selection". Deadline. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  6. ^ "The Blue Trail". Berlinale. 4 February 2025. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  7. ^ Elsa Keslassy (21 January 2024). "Gabriel Mascaro's Dystopian Brazilian Film 'The Blue Trail' Joins Inaugural Sales Roster of Lucky Number Ahead of Berlinale Competition (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  8. ^ Shackleton, Liz (17 March 2025). "'The Brightest Sun', 'Pavane For An Infant' To Open HKIFF; Leos Carax & Ando Sakura Among Filmmakers Set To Attend". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  9. ^ "The Blue Trail". HKIFF. 17 March 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  10. ^ "The Blue Trail". Sydney Film Festival. 31 March 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  11. ^ "Catalogue of Films". Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. 20 June 2025. Archived from the original on 16 June 2025. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  12. ^ "Toda la programación del Festival de Cine de Lima 2025" [The entire program for the 2025 Lima Film Festival]. Escribiendo Cine (in Spanish). 24 July 2025. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  13. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (5 August 2025). "TIFF Centrepiece Section Counts 55 Titles Including Pics Starring Shailene Woodley, Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Samara Weaving, Stephen Graham & More". Deadline. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  14. ^ "The Blue Trail". Toronto International Film Festival. 12 August 2025. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  15. ^ "The Blue Trail". Atlantic International Film Festival. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  16. ^ "Selection List: World Cinema". BIFF. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  17. ^ "Showcase". Vancouver International Film Festival. 27 August 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  18. ^ "Bi Gan, los Dardenne, Sergei Loznitsa, Lav Diaz y Mascha Schilinski competirán por la Espiga de Oro en la 70 Seminci". Kinótico (in Spanish). 24 July 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  19. ^ "The Blue Trail". Valladolid International Film Festival. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  20. ^ "The Blue Trail". Festival du Nouveau Cinéma. 23 September 2025. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
  21. ^ "TIFF: Full lineup: The Blue Trail". Tokyo International Film Festival. 2 October 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  22. ^ Naman Ramachandran (1 October 2025). "Fan Bingbing's 'Mother Bhumi,' Zhang Ziyi's 'She Has No Name' Among Selections as Tokyo Film Festival Unveils Full Lineup". Variety. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  23. ^ "The Blue Trail". Thessaloniki International Film Festival. 23 October 2025. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  24. ^ "The Blue Trail". Stockholm International Film Festival. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  25. ^ "The Blue Trail". Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. 4 November 2025. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  26. ^ "The Blue Trail". Zagreb Film Festival. 17 October 2025. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  27. ^ "Japan country of focus at 56th International Film Festival of India". Telegraph India. 7 November 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  28. ^ "The Blue Trail". Palm Springs International Film Festival. 3 December 2025. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
  29. ^ "Academia Brasileira de Cinema revela os seis filmes finalistas na disputa para representar o Brasil no Oscar" [The Brazilian Film Academy reveals the six finalist films competing to represent Brazil at the Oscars.]. O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 8 September 2025. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  30. ^ "The Blue Trail". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  31. ^ Debruge, Peter (16 February 2025). "'The Blue Trail' Review: It's Never Too Late to Find One's Purpose, Preaches an Open-Minded Septuagenarian". Variety. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  32. ^ Scott Roxborough (21 January 2025). "Berlin Film Festival Lineup: Movies From Richard Linklater, Michel Franco, Hang Song-Soo in Competition (Full List)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  33. ^ Scott Roxborough (22 February 2025). "Norwegian Queer Love Story 'Dreams' Wins 75th Berlin Film Festival (Full Winners List)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  34. ^ "Further Prizes". Berlinale. 22 February 2025. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  35. ^ Rodríguez, Andrés (15 June 2025). "El documental 'Llamarse Olimpia', galardonado con el Premio Mezcal a mejor película en el Festival de Cine en Guadalajara" [The documentary 'Llamarse Olimpia' won the Mezcal Award for Best Film at the Guadalajara Film Festival.]. El País.
  36. ^ "Toda la programación del Festival de Cine de Lima 2025". Escribiendo Cine (in Spanish). 24 July 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  37. ^ "¡Estos son los ganadores del 29 Festival de Cine de Lima PUCP!". festivaldelima.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2025. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  38. ^ "Avance de la 70 Seminci: Hermanos Dardenne, Sergei Loznitsa, Bi Gan, Lav Díaz y Mascaro, a por la Espiga de Oro" [Preview of the 70 Seminci: Dardenne Brothers, Sergei Loznitsa, Bi Gan, Lav Díaz and Mascaro, going for the Golden Spike]. Europa Press. 24 July 2025. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  39. ^ Rivera, Alfonso (3 November 2025). "Kelly Reichardt and Lav Diaz share the Golden Spike at Seminci". Cineuropa. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  • Official website in Portuguese
  • The Blue Trail at IMDb 
  • The Blue Trail at Rotten Tomatoes
  • The Blue Trail at Berlinale
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