Movie Review: I’m Still Here

Growing up, my school’s curriculum was unsurprisingly very America focused, and so I don’t recall being taught anything about Brazil’s rule by a military dictatorship from the years 1964 to 1985, and I was too young to remember any mentions of its end in the news. As such, the true events depicted in director Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here were all new to me and set off a few alarm bells as I watched them.

Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello) was once a congressman but now lives a comfortable life with his wife Eunice (Fernanda Torres) and five children. Despite the authoritarian rule the country was living under at the time, life seems to be largely the same for most Brazilians, including the Paivas, as they frolic on Rio’s famed beaches and invite friends around for dinner parties. That is until the military police arrive at their door one day and take Rubens away for questioning.

Eunice is obviously upset by this but tries to maintain her composure in front of her children, especially the younger three, an aim made all the more difficult by the presence of several police who have remained to watch over the family. The following day he still hasn’t returned and now the police want to bring Eunice and her oldest daughter in for questioning as well, so they have black sacks put over their heads and are driven to a secret military prison. Her daughter is freed after one day, but Eunice is held and asked the same questions over and over for two weeks, with the screams of other prisoners being tortured echoing around her.

When she is finally released, her family is overjoyed to see her, but Rubens has still not returned. She sets about trying to keep up some sense of normalcy for the sake of her children but is earnestly trying to find out where her husband has gone and what has happened to him, with the government thwarting her efforts at every step of the way.

This is an important story that deserves to be seen, especially as a reminder of how easily any country in the world could slip into similar circumstances. It’s chilling to see life carrying on like nothing is wrong while little signs of the danger each citizen actually finds themselves living in appear in the periphery. That said, the movie’s frequent focus on the minutiae of daily family life robs it of a sense of narrative momentum, making material that should feel tense and distressing sometimes come off as oddly inert.

Eunice is the center of this story and Torres delivers a powerful portrayal, conveying her character’s strength and turmoil with grace. The entire movie could fall apart if this role was mishandled and she absolutely owns every minute of it, delivering one of the year’s best performances. Salles and cinematographer Adrian Teijido capture the family in a naturalistic manner, lending authenticity to their already convincing deliveries, and making us feel like we’ve really come to know them as people, which makes the cruelty the government subjects them to all the more heartbreaking.

This isn’t a story of human suffering however, and while it certainly serves as a reminder and a warning to viewers around the world about the dangers of fascism, it’s also a touching ode to the strength of the human spirit and the love of family. While it’s a touch too languorously paced for my taste, it’s still a worthy watch with a powerful message and a moving finale. ★★★★