One of the most interesting aspects of A Bright Future (notice the title indicating a middle ground just like the neighbourhood of the protagonist sandwiched between the north and the far south) remains its characterization of the 18 year old protagonist Elisa Vick (an incredible Martina Passeggi). In the opening sequence, you see Elisa being interviewed by the panelists in a bid to handpick her to the north. To one of the questions about Independence, Elisa claims that “independence is necessary—sometimes”, an answer that guarantees her selection. To make matters even more complicated, her aging neighbour puts up banners of the same while almost treating her as a local celebrity. Yet, the plucky nature of Elisa, along with her art of questioning makes her gut question the intentions of the agencies, often being conflicted by a personal interest.

You can claim that Elisa was once very close to her sister Amanda who like her, was previously posted to the far North. Since then, there is very little that she has heard from her, patiently awaiting her messages and exchanging only one-sided conversations briefly. And Amanda is the one character that is synonymous to being ambiguous just like the setting of the north, something that triggers her questioning power. She wants to spend time with her sister but is seemingly placed in a different department, that leaves her with no scope to share space with her. This, while Elisa’s mother having always wanting to migrate to the north but unable to do so this her low IQ, is always encouraging of Elisa to take the leap of faith. If given a choice, she would love to stay with both her daughters around her – and in a bid to do so, she works double shifts to accumulate enough money to bid for the auction ticket to the north! But the question lies with Elisa – why would she move out of a familiar setting into something that is alienated?

The setting here has a strong influence of the media that have till then created a successful narrative about a bunch of myths – one that is christened by the threat of an ecological disaster that is accompanied by the neighbourhood being often fumigated by thick-green vapours, along with the town being devoid of any animals, and treating ants as human-eating insects. In fact, the narrative against the presence of animals is such that the myth of a wasteland in the south is prevalent, that is a house to creatures that would destroy the human presence. And to counter this myth, there are research centers setup in the north to cure every human disasters, with the purpose to increase the productivity. Yet in a scene wherein you see the presence of an ant much to the shock and impulsiveness of Elisa’s family, you see Elisa calmly picking the ant in a glass in order to locate it outside her house. That displays a lot about the personality of Elisa who doesn’t take everything at face value.

There is a thread of fascism that acts as an undercurrent for most parts of the drama. Because the setting involves segregation of the youth with high IQ from the rest, it also serves as a tonic for politics given how people with money are also given a chance. The reason remains ambiguous and on the lines of sustainable management, but its repercussions are also felt in the aging society where intimacy is also looked down upon. As a result, you see Elisa joining forces with Leonor (Sofia Gala Castiglione), her one-legged neighbour to host a frequent group sessions featuring townfolk who would pay a fortune for even a whiff of smell, all in order to earn a quick buck. In a way, this passage also doubles up as a building block for Elisa in terms of her s*xual awakening and the realisation of the power of youth in the purest sense.

So after being heavily conflicted, when the decision is actually made, it makes for a brutal finale that can also be viewed as a coming of age drama, or more specifically the metamorphosis of Elisa who emerges to be a non-conformist having a mind of her own. And so, the ending in many ways also adds to the glimmer of hope while stressing on the idea of questioning the authorities or the society, as opposed to blindly giving in to the idea of the ‘truth’ being sold. This very sentiment can be extended to any situation, be it a dream of shifting to another country, or a dream of selecting the right candidate during elections, or even having to work according to the norms of the society. This, dystopian world is devoid of guns and violence but has a deeper psychological impact thanks to its screenplay that is wonderfully well written.