Because I have an addictive personality, I understand the power of addiction and its devastating consequences. So Airplane Mode, a movie from Brazil, intrigued me because of the film’s theme involving a person who is addicted to social media and finds it almost impossible to resist no matter how many serious problems develop as a result. The main character Ana (Larissa Manoela) finds her whole life centered around her phone, which serves as her gateway to social media. She takes photos of practically everything, especially of herself and selfies, then posts them on various sites.  

That’s Ana’s job for a company called True Fashion, and it’s become her obsession. Her photos get a high number of “likes” and “follows” – so the True Fashion folks even make up stories about Ana, including a false romance with one of the other employees. Basically, Ana has become a character in a social media script rather than a real person.

But that’s not all. Ana’s attention to her phone while driving has caused a number of traffic accidents. No wonder her parents get worried and agree to send her away to a non-social media environment. “It’s a court order,” they tell her.

Up to this point, Ana has been hard to like. She comes across as quite annoying trying to borrow other people’s phones. But we can’t help feeling a bit sorry for her.                    

Addiction ruins young Ana’s life.

Her phone -- the cause of daily strife.

So off to Grandpa’s house she goes.

No social media he knows.

An “influencer” she’s become.

Without her calls, Ana is numb.

Can Ana live without a phone?

Will she soon learn she’s not alone?

A real romance starts out to please

Not staged photos or phony sleaze.

She studied fashion and loved it.

Perhaps this will again seem fit.

.

“Airplane Mode,” a romcom movie.

Not much laughter, but it's timely.

When Ana gets used to rural living, her personality gradually changes as she interacts with her calm grandfather (Erasmo Carlos) and a young wannabe chef (André Luiz Frambach). Redemption is in the air. However, she has a score to settle with True Fashion’s VIP (Katiuscia Canoro), so watch for an exciting finale.

Directed by César Rodrigues from a screenplay by Alberto Bremer and Alice Name Bomtemp, Airplane Mode reminds us there is real life outside of social media. Not a bad message for our digitalized age.   

(Released by Netflix and rated “PG” by MPAA.)