Brazil 1971 – political turmoil, the country in the grip of a tightening military dictatorship. Freedoms curtailed, the population living in fear, afraid even to breathe…. a stark picture of unchecked government authority and those it affects.
Domestic happiness for the Paiva family is shattered when Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello), a former outspoken congressman in the Brazilian Labour Party is taken away by the secret police without a trace or recourse, another in a multitude of ‘disappeared’ by Brazil’s tyrannical communist-hunting leadership. Eunice Paiva’s (renowned Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres) life torn asunder, struggles to find a way to keep her children safe while also digging to the dark reality that snared her husband and has unleashed turbulence in her country.
Based on a biographical 2015 memoir written by their son Marcelo Rubens Paiva, (11 years old when his father disappeared), the narrative unveils true events that helped reconstruct an important part of Brazil’s hidden history. Director Walter Salles Oscar nominated best film jolts viewers, delivering an emotional shakeup with the realization no one is immune to the whims of a hierarchy that rules with silence and fear.
Struggling to hold her family together while searching for the truth, Eunice Paiva and her five children must rebuild the family unit following this violent and arbitrary act by the government. As days turn into weeks and weeks into months, the weight of uncertainty becomes unbearable.
Salles directs a drama that envelopes viewers with heart arresting drama….a mother overwhelmed by an evil life force who, retaliating with gutsy determination resists the evils of an authoritarian regime. Torres shows force and power in a power performance of pain and confusion over a situation that seems way beyond her ability to cope. Love for a missing husband and concern for her agitated children, spurs Eunice to rally against overwhelming circumstances giving way to relief with hard truths bared. In Salles cinematic telling, viewers observe an upheaval of a family tossed into emotional flux, set against a dark historical backdrop, a juxtaposition showing happy family moments shattered by darkness.
In her Golden Globes acceptance speech in January awarded for best actress in a drama, Fernanda Torres said, “This is a film that helps us to think how to survive in tough times. Art can endure through life, even in difficult moments.” Torres also was honored with the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actress in an International Film as well as an Oscar Best Actress nomination. What makes “I’m Still Here” come alive to viewers is the humanity, decency and quiet bravery Torres shows as a wife and mother, a stabilizing force facing a bleak reality in her search to reunite the family. A dark narrative for all families who have carried the weight of forced disappearances.
There’s no melodrama in this true-life account as Eunice internalizes the dark events that fall upon her. A final ending is reached 25 years later when she is able to hold her husband’s death certificate in her hands. The memories remain.
In an interesting casting note, Torres’s mother, the acclaimed Brazilian stage, TV, and film actress Fernanda Montenegro, adds emotional heft to the narrative, appearing as the older Eunice Paiva in the film’s final emotionally sensitive scenes.
In reality, Eunice Paiva, in her late 40s, went on to become a celebrated human rights attorney advocating for others who experienced political injustice.
(In theatres, Fandango at home)
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