Tropical Reason

While visiting my brother in Italy over the past two weeks, I came across a poster featuring Leonie Benesch, a German actress I really like. She stars in the Swiss-German film The Last Turn (Heldin), portraying a deeply human and dedicated nurse from a wealthy country. I was glad that I could understand most of the dialogue dubbed in Italian, and it was moving to hear her sing in German to comfort an elderly woman who needed it.

Watching her performance brought back memories of my own hospital stays during my early years in Germany. While watching Benesch’s astonishing performance, I could feel again the cold, fearful, and lonely days of that time. Of course, it’s impossible to compare a public hospital in Brazil to one in Switzerland, but the emotions involved, vulnerability, fear, and gratitude, are similar in both settings.

After all these years, I can better understand the perspective of the nurses who supported me during my recovery. Some were incredibly kind; others not that much. This was especially true when I was still struggling with the German language — it's not that I'm not struggling with it after all these years, but it was worse.

I wish more decision-makers, who tend to view immigrant nurses as a problem in the city landscape, could watch this movie. Maybe those who clean wounds or care for relatives aren't immigrants, or maybe they simply haven't experienced that kind of vulnerability yet. Possibly I’m naive to think a film can awaken more empathy than it actually does. But that remains my hope.

Back in Germany, I was fortunate to watch the award-winning Brazilian film The Blue Trail (O Último Azul). Once again, aging and ageism were the topics, featuring an outstanding performance by Denise Weinberg amid the lush yet oppressive jungles of the Amazon rainforest.

The film depicts a dystopian Brazil where elderly people are sent to remote housing colonies to “maximize economic productivity.” It’s yet another reminder of our profit-driven societies' disregard for the final stage of human life.

When Tereza, a 77-year-old worker, discovered that she could no longer work, I couldn’t help but think of my father. He worked tirelessly for many years, seven days a week, and now he struggles to find meaning in retirement. Like Tereza, he tries to stay busy, asking himself, “What will I do?” It makes me reflect on how many people were taught to believe in the virtues of work yet forgot the importance of free time and simply being.

As the story unfolds, Tereza’s transformation through what seems, at first, like a simple pursuit, flying on an airplane, is fascinating to witness. That is where her adventure in the jungle begins. From a Global North perspective, her dream might sound naive or even amusing. How could someone’s greatest wish be merely to board a plane? But she had never had the time to dream nor the opportunity to think about herself. Like many Brazilians, she had spent most of her life working and could not even afford a ticket.

It was beautiful to witness her discovery and her courage in making that dream come true. The film felt poetic and full of insights to which I could deeply relate, especially since it was filmed near the place where I spent a month years ago, deciding to move to Europe and begin my own new adventure.

#cinema #nursing #retirement #ageism #Switzerland #Germany #healthcare #Brazil #Amazonas #AmazonRainforest