A Strange Path
A Strange Path
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across Brazil, a young filmmaker is forced to spend lockdown with his father, who he hasn't spoken to in over ten years. But as they get closer, strange things start to happen.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 2, 2025
David, a young filmmaker, returns home to Brazil to participate in a film festival. But as Covid-19 pandemic shutters everything across the country, he decides to check in and reconnect with his father, Geraldo, whom he hasn’t seen in ten years. The pair has a fair amount of awkwardness between them. Geraldo isn’t very open or inviting to his son and is very reluctant to let him stay at his house. Amidst this coldness, Geraldo displays flashes of warmth towards David. After watching David’s film, he comments to David that it’s “different.” As David begins to explain that it’s an experimental film, Geraldo says “no, different from your other films.” Before David has time to express surprise that his dad has watched his other films, Geraldo moves on to complaints about not being able to close out of the film on his computer. This simultaneous hot/cold relationship takes on a whole new context in the final act—a sad expression of estranged relationship. An impressive film seen at Tribeca Film Festival 2023. Loved Carlos Francisco as Geraldo and it’s one of the best uses of a pandemic setting I’ve seen in films.