Borne out of the current economic crisis, Bluebird is set in an obscure and isolated logging town in Maine. Coated in snow that seems to be barely ever cleared, there is a lingering fear that the mill will close and the town will fade even deeper into the past. Lost in the rituals of daily life, it is only through accidental tragedy that a true sense of malaise and hopelessness comes rising from below the surface.
It is an instinctual response to want to assign fault after a horrible accident. It takes concentrated and open-minded reflection to achieve a fair evaluation of tragedy, and Bluebird opens the door to thoughtful deliberation in its treatment of complicated moral issues with nuanced simplicity. This is a film of moods and feelings, not generalizations or judgments. The setting transports us to a little Maine town, where the primary industry is logging. Winter has cast its gloomy pall over everything and created a deceptive sense of stasis.