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Maggie O’Farrell’s lauded 2020 novel Hamnet is a dense and lyrical imagining of the lives of William Shakespeare’s family, full of interior thought and lush descriptions of the physical world. It would seem, upon reading, near impossible to adapt into a film. Or, at least, a film worthy of O’Farrell’s so finely woven sensory spell. Film-maker Chloé Zhao has attempted to do so anyway, and the result is a stately, occasionally lugubrious drama whose closing minutes are among the most poignant in recent memory.

Zhao is a good fit for the material. She, too, is a close observer of nature and of the many aching, yearning people passing through it. But she has previously not made anything as traditionally tailored and refined as this. The humbler dimensions of her films The Rider and Nomadland are missed here; Hamnet too often gives off the effortful hum of prestige awards-bait.

But Zhao’s hallmark compassion and curiosity remains, qualities necessary to Hamnet, which could easily tilt into the realm of manipulative tearjerkers. Hamnet was, records tell us, Shakespeare’s son, who died at a young age and is thought to have inspired, at the very least, the title of Hamlet, the story of a young prince who meets a tragic end. What O’Farrell and now Zhao imagine is that the writing of Hamlet was an exercise in grieving, a way for Shakespeare to honor his son and bid him adieu.

It’s a persuasive idea, even if it takes some literary contortions to really buy into it. While Zhao sometimes strains to sell the notion – a scene in which a weeping Shakespeare stands on the banks of the Thames and speaks a snippet of the “to be or not to be” soliloquy is perhaps a bit over-egged – she has mostly convinced us by the end. Or, at least, Hamnet has justified the bold speculation, using a leapt-to conclusion to illuminate a fundamental aspect of living. Ultimately, what does it really matter if it actually happened this way?

Hamnet invents many other facets of Shakespeare’s history. It dreams up the courtship of young William (Paul Mescal), then a Latin tutor, and slightly older Agnes Hathaway (Jessie Buckley), an oddball loner about whom the villagers whisper in fearful tones. William is drawn to exactly that strangeness, the individuality that will come to inform so much of the family’s domestic routine. Zhao spends a fair amount of time on these early days, maybe too much. Some of it could be better spent on the years in which Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe) occupied the house alongside his twin, Judith (Olivia Lynes), and their older sister, Susanna (Bodhi Rae Breathnach). One longs to truly know Hamnet before he is so wrenchingly lost to the world, to feel the agony of his absence that much more acutely.

Whatever Zhao doesn’t supply, though, is mostly made up for by the richly felt performances of the film’s two leads. Mescal is able to be far more expressive than he’s been allowed in quieter films such as Aftersun and The History of Sound. It is a pleasure to see the full breadth of his range, from seductive to shattered. It’s Buckley, though, who wholly envelops the film, giving staggering breath and body to Hamnet’s portrait of loss. She is nothing short of a wonder. (She also recorded a new version of the audiobook and does a terrific job at that.) It is on her shoulders that the film’s knockout climax rests. As she rises to the task, it is as if she is no longer acting but instead channeling a whole history of human lamentation.

That may all sound rather grandiose. But the final five minutes of Hamnet really are that striking. So much much so that one can totally forgive the use of composer Max Richter’s On the Nature of Daylight, already used to embody grief over a child so effectively in the film Arrival. In these final moments, Zhao finally makes clear the whole purpose of the film. It has not been merely to show us a prettily shot sad thing, as the film can too often seem. It has, it turns out, been building toward a grand meditation on art’s great capacity. We watch in awe as something so personal to Agnes and her husband becomes, in a transformative instant, universal. It is the power of creation made manifest, a private sorrow blossoming into one of the most enduring works of art the world has ever known.

This sublime finale does not completely absolve the film of all of its problems. There is still its lopsided storytelling, still the persistent feeling that this is all strong-arming us into doleful submission, still the ever so slightly cloying quality of Agnes’s woodsy mysticism. But that Zhao manages even a few minutes of such transcendent catharsis may tip Hamnet into greatness anyway. In that closing, as Agnes both reaches for and says goodbye to the son who slipped away, the tears flow naturally, they need no effortful wringing out. It proves a lovely experience, to sob in a movie theater alongside strangers, mourning for Agnes and William’s loss and for our own, amazed and relieved that a faraway, unknowable person has made something to connect us all.

Gabriel Mascaro’s “The Blue Trail” has had quite a stellar run: the winner of the Silver Bear at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, the film continued to rack up awards in its festival journey well into the fall season as it arrives in Toronto this week.

The film also has much to celebrate domestically, having just become the biggest national arthouse release of the year in Brazil with 57,000 admissions on the first weekend and having just hit a landmark 100,000 this week as it expands nationwide from 71 to 89 cities. 

Lucky Number handles sales on “The Blue Trail,” which has sold to 66 territories so far. The film arrives in Toronto having just landed Canadian distribution by Films We Like. The president of the distribution label, Ron Mann, told Variety they are “proud to bring this award-winning film to Canadian audiences,” highlighting the film as a “powerful protest against ageism.”

“The trajectory since Berlin has been incredible,” producer Rachel Daisy Ellis of Desvia told Variety. “It was the most sold film out of the festival, and we have continued to have many sales since, working with distributors committed to screening the film in cinemas.”

“The Blue Trail” takes place in a near-future Brazil where the government relocates the elderly to senior housing colonies so the younger generations can fully focus on productivity and growth. Tereza (Denise Weinberg), nearing 80, refuses to accept her fate, embarking instead on a journey through the Amazon to realize one last wish before losing her freedom. 

The producer attributed part of the film’s success to its messaging: “It’s a film that speaks to ageism and resilience. It’s a super important story at a time when our global population is getting older, and we still believe that happiness and adventure are reserved only for the young. Coming-of-age stories are always tied to the young, but in this film, we watch the coming-of-age of a 72-year-old woman. The film brings with it a much-needed hope, and it has been received with such warmth by audiences.”

“The Blue Trail” had its Brazilian premiere at the prestigious Gramado Film Festival in August, going on to sell out preview screenings, including a special screening for cast and crew in the Northern city of Manaus. Ellis highlighted the importance of having a film establish such a strong alliance between the North and Northeast of Brazil, especially considering the longstanding focus on the Southeast and cities like Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Brazil’s Northeastern cinema comes with a great tradition, and its exports such as Mascaro, Kleber Mendonça Filho, and Karim Aïnouz have become prominent staples in prestigious festivals such as Cannes and Berlin. 

“‘The Blue Trail’ builds a very strategic bridge between two regions, mixing the cinema of the North with that of the Northeast, Pernambuco and Amazonas,” Mascaro told Variety. “The beautiful thing about it is to realize we have made a Brazilian film, set in the Amazon, that also speaks to the universal in its approach of freedom, dreams, and desires, all embodied by an elderly character.” 

For Ellis, it is “super important” to see a film like “The Blue Trail” do well box-office-wise because “it proves Brazilian arthouse cinema can reach larger audiences and is not only for cinephiles. Longtime fans of Gabriel’s work are going to the cinemas, but also new audiences who are becoming acquainted with his work through the film, which we think is beautiful.” 

“We are undergoing a beautiful moment for Brazilian cinema, with films like ‘I’m Still Here’ and ‘Baby’ performing so well, and upcoming films like ‘The Secret Agent’ getting audiences interested,” adds the producer. “We were also moved to be able to show ‘The Blue Trail’ to President Lula, a highlight of the film’s trajectory as it reinforced the role of cinema as a vital element of Brazil’s cultural output.”

“I think it’s a beautiful year for Brazilian cinema,” echoed Mascaro. “We had a history-making moment with ‘I’m Still Here’ earning Brazil its first Oscar, a much-awaited event for our national cinema. Within the same year, we had ‘The Blue Trail’ winning the Silver Bear in Berlin and ‘The Secret Agent’ winning two awards in Cannes. I think it’s beautiful to know it wasn’t an isolated episode. We’re living in a moment where Brazil is reaping the fruits of public policies, realizing the strength of its talent and promoting a decentralization of public resources, allowing other regions in the country to build their very own cinematographic legacy, like Pernambuco.”

Ellis also pointed out how “The Blue Trail” still has a strong journey ahead, especially as it eyes possible selection as Brazil’s Oscar contender, though Filho’s Cannes-winner “The Secret Agent” is the favorite to land the nomination.

“We are a strong candidate to represent Brazil at the Oscars, as well as possibly landing Goya and Golden Globes nominations within the next few months,” she says. “Again, it’s a unique moment for Brazil, having two very strong films as possible Oscar contenders. It would be beautiful to see two Brazilian films represented at the Oscars in different categories.”

Chilean producer Giancarlo Nasi of Quijote Films also highlighted how Mascaro has recently become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, calling him “one of the most influential filmmakers of our generation.” “The Blue Trail’ confirms his standing — a work as urgent as it is moving, as relevant for audiences as it is for professionals and critics, and unquestionably one of the films to watch this Awards season.”