Movie Number 14 of 2025
The Movie: I'm Still Here
The Cinema: Sun Theatre,Yarraville
Run time: Two hours 15 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Language: Portuguese with English subtitles
Stars: 4.5
There is a reason why I'm Still Here was nominated for a number of Oscars (Best Film, Best International Film, (which it won), and Best Leading Actress for Fernanda Torres) The reason why is it's bloody brilliant. A tour de force of a film, which you don't expect from this little film from Brazil. The performances bring this to an extra level. It's hard-hitting, yet subtle. It's a very human film. And even better (or worse) it's based on fact.
We meet the Paiva family in 1970, living on Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro. Mother, Eunice (Fernanda Torres) and her ex-congressman husband Rubens (Selton Mello) life a wonderful life with their five children, four girls and a boy. The kids are lively, loving life, intelligent and the family is one you'd love to be a part of.
But all is not well in Rio. We see this first-hand through the conversations with the parents and when their eldest daughter Vera is stopped at a military checkpoint on the way home from that you start to realise that all is not well. There are a lot of covert conversations. Vera is sent to London to stay with family friends. There is word that people are disappearing. (What is it with these South American's and their military juntas?)
This is a part of Brazil's history which is often glossed over. It's truly awful what happened to so many people. The disappearances affect generations.
It's through this set up that you grow very quickly to love the Paiva family. They're good people. When the unspeakable happens, when Rubens is taken away by the police that things kick in. Eunice is forced to keep the family going. This come to a head when she and her next eldest daughter, Eliana, are taken in for questioning that the seriousness of the situation really comes to a head.
By the time Eunice is finally released from police custody, you are completely invested in the family.
The film is based on the book written by the son, Marcelo Rubens Paiva. More about the family can be found here.
This is exceptional filmmaking. Walter Salles, who also directed The Motorcycles Diaries, keeps a very tight rein on his actors. There is just the right balance of tension, family time and political intrigue. The set and costumes are spot on, capturing the seventies perfectly. And there is a dog. All good films have a dog.
I also loved how the film made a deal of the family photos and films being shot, only to find the original family photos shown in the closing credits
For me, it's Fernanda Torres' performance which makes this movie. It's nuanced and understated and shows a woman providing incredible strength to her family and those around her. Some have said that she should have won the Oscar over Mikey Madison. It is a career best for the actress. Another fun fact, in the closing phase of the film, we see an older Eunice. She is played by Torres' mother, Fernanda Montenegro. And here was I thinking the makeup job was Oscar worthy.
I'm very glad we went to see this. It's hard-hitting and emotional and a brilliant bit of cinema. That it's based on a true story from a bit of unrecognised world history, even better.
This is definitely worth a look.
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