In Guto Parente’s A Strange Path, the main character David (Lucas Limeira) is an experimental film-maker which gives extra resonance to the experimental techniques used throughout the film. They never seem indulgent, and never get in the way of the narrative.
The narrative itself is tense, and almost too real, even though I have never found myself stranded and phoneless in Brazil.
David is in Brazil, where he was born, to attend a festival showing his first feature length film. But then COVID happens. The festival is canceled, his flight is canceled, his hotel shuts down, and he’s run out of money to pay them anyway. Then his phone is stolen, limiting his ability to stay on top of potential flights and places to stay. The only thing he can think to do is to follow his mother’s urgings – and the address she’s given him – to find his estranged father.
The father, Geraldo (Carlos Francisco) very reluctantly lets David crash on the loveseat. He’s a real odd duck though: he won’t let David use the phone or the computer that he’s constantly typing on, his fridge is stocked with expired yogurt, and he speaks to David in insulting, aggravating ways. Still, David develops a relationship with him, and when he seems to be taken by an ambulance with a heart attack, David runs all the way to the hospital through the sweaty city air.
There’s a twist at the end that isn’t very twisty, but Limeira’s performance sells it. A Strange Path is a solid, atmospheric drama about the pandemic and parental reconciliation.
