One of the greatest mysteries in life is the question “what happens after we die?” It is both a gift and a curse of human consciousness to know that death is inevitable. There are those who believe in heaven and hell, and that we must be baptized in order to get into heaven, given that we have not committed any sins. But what of those who were not baptized? Sara Crow’s Bluebird explores this idea of questioning these mysteries and questioning the faith on which these mysteries are founded on. Moreover, it explores the innocence of children and how they might deal with the challenges that they face in life.

Bluebird follows the story of a young girl, Alice, who lost her baby sister before she could be baptized. Her friends at her all-girls Catholic school give Alice their condolences, though there are some of her friends who don’t know the proper way to be respectful when conversing to someone who has lost a loved one. When we are young, we don’t know how we are supposed to act in times like this, especially when our parents aren’t there to show us, and Bluebird conveys that beautifully.

But before this wholesome interaction between Alice and her friends, Alice notices on the ground a seemingly lifeless bluebird, and she fixes her gaze on it. There is so much that could be going through Alice’s head in that moment, so much that the audience could take away from this. Could it be that this bird, in Alice’s mind, symbolizes her late baby sister? So every time she looks at this bird she really sees her sister? When Louise, another student at the school, begins to examine the bird up close, she begins to draw it. Then Louise mentions that her dog didn’t get into heaven either because animals don’t have souls. This angers Alice, and she kicks the bird by the end of the scene, so Louise can’t draw it anymore. Or, maybe this bird symbolizes her connection to her faith. If we look very closely at the shot of the bird, it appears as though it could be moving very slightly, almost as if there is still a little life left in this bird. So the fleeting nature of the bird could represent the fleeting nature of her religion as a result of her questioning her faith after her baby sister died.

Or perhaps this bird could simply represent yet another poor soul lost to purgatory, as we see that Louise made a place for it in her cemetery of other animals who were lost to purgatory. At least, it is believed that they are lost to purgatory. As it is learned from a conversation with Sister Agatha, we don’t truly know what happens to the souls that don’t make it to heaven. There are some things in life that we are unfortunately not allowed to know. Or as Sister Agatha puts it, we must be able to trust and have faith that we are on the right path. So maybe the bluebird does in fact represent Alice’s faith. The fleeting nature of the bird and of Alice’s baby sister doesn’t make them any less beautiful or important than they were before, they will always be with us in memory, and that is just as beautiful.

Regardless of what religion we follow or what we believe, we are all faced with difficult times. In these times we might ask the question, “why me?” But the hard truth to the answer is that we are tested in life; our faith in what we believe is constantly being tested, and we must remain strong in these times. We must show the world that we have what it takes to overcome life’s obstacles. It is the bold and the brave who look into the face of adversity and smile. Bluebird ends with Alice putting the rosary around the cross on the grave and the sketchbook, as a way of showing that her faith is still there, and as a way of apologizing to Louise for lashing out in anger. It is a beautiful story portraying a young girl questioning her faith, yet remaining strong in the end. 

Bluebird screens as part of Shorts Program #3 at the Spring 2024 New Jersey Film Festival on Friday, February 9. The film will be Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 7 PM in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ. Tickets are available for purchase here.