Movie Review by BPL's William Anthony: "I'm Still Here"

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"I'm Still Here is an urgent story that needs to be seen and discussed."-Movie Reviewer William Anthony, Librarian I at Citizen Services Department, Central Library 

I’m Still Here packs a powerful punch about the atrocities, more specifically forced disappearances, committed by a military dictatorship and how it scarred an innocent family living in Brazil in the early 1970s. (Click here for a link to the movie trailer for I’m Still Here )

I'm Still Here does not revel too much in these crimes, for these heinous acts occur offscreen. Instead, it accurately breaks down the aftermath of dealing with trauma without just stepping onto a soapbox and using a bullhorn to preach about how awful war crimes and human rights abuses are.  Walter Salles’ latest film takes this critical, unsettling era in Brazilian history a step further by prioritizing how ordinary people suffer the brunt of unchecked power. 

The Paivas appear to have it all. The elegant Eunice and her successful husband and engineer, Rubens, are happy and healthy with their five children who have a lust for life. We feel as if we are a part of their festivities, meals, and week-to-week schedules that are full of energy and laughter. The children dance to their favorite records, and Leblon beach is treated as if it is a second home for everyone. They even use a Super 8mm camera to record and preserve all these precious memories and celebrations, which ends up being a prominent theme throughout this political, biographical drama. 

One day, their comfortable, privileged lifestyle just shatters when Rubens is escorted away by military officials because they just want to ask him some questions about himself. Nothing is the same for them once soldiers stay at their lavish home and monitor them during this unruly process. As you watch Rubens put on a suit and obediently leave his home for the last time, the film’s initially jubilant tone shifts towards an unthinkable dread that now drapes over his wife and children. This departure is not even the most stressful scene in the whole movie, but the heavier, more upsetting scenes, later on, all point back to that typical afternoon when the Paivas realize that they are not as safe as they thought they were. 

The overall anxiety just grows thicker in the air, especially when Eunice and one of her daughters are eventually interrogated over Rubens’s involvement in pro-democracy political activity and held captive against their will. Even when they are hanging out on the beach or playing with a stray dog that they adopt as a pet and name Pimpão, you sense an uneasiness lurking in the background. Authority figures still monitor the Paivas even after Eunice and her daughter are released from captivity and return to a less idyllic home. Tanks crawl through the nicest neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro. Helicopters hover over the beaches just waiting for a bystander to make just one small legal mistake. The presence of all this surveillance only illuminates the distant, insinuated crimes that will still rattle generations to come. 

The Brazilian auteur, Walter Salles, faithfully and respectfully adapts the 2015 memoir of the same name, which is written by Marcelo Rubens Paiva. I’m Still Here is his first feature in over 12 years since his film adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. In fact, he is probably the only director that could share this type of story with us. It is the equivalent to Alfonso Cuarón making a personal film about Mexico such as Roma. Salles thoroughly grasps and understands Brazil’s culture and its checkered history, as evidenced in a couple of his other urgent films such as Central Station and Behind the Sun. 

On top of that, this critically acclaimed director was also an executive director for one of my all-time favorite movies, City of God, which is another seminal Brazilian film about organized crime and poverty. He hits the ground running with clarity and wisdom over depicting this slice of early 1970s world history. His focus on the Paivas unveils how Brazil finally improved its governance and maintained a sought-after democracy for the people. This glimmer of hope stretches from Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo as the Paivas have to figure out and utilize their new, earth-shattering familial dynamics.

Fernanda Torres perfectly captures Eunice’s quiet strength required to pursue the truth behind her husband’s shocking fate. You can see and feel her hurt, but she never surrenders to systematic evil and corruption. Tears build up in her eyes. Her body trembles out of grief and ongoing fear for her family. The mother’s simmering righteous anger and pensiveness rope you into the room that she is in, whether she is arguing with one of her daughters or gazing at another family enjoying a meal together without a single worry on their minds. However, she refuses to have a complete emotional breakdown. 

There is never an instance where she just gives up and bawls out of defeat. Such a lawless tribulation did spark her to pursue a trailblazing legal career advocating for indigenous rights. It is all about her resilience that reminds us why we should never give up on pursuing justice in the face of wickedness. Even when the film flashes forward to her later years, not even a single ounce of weakness corrodes her inspirational character, Eunice Paiva. This is why it is such a bittersweet victory when she finally retrieves her husband’s death certificate and displays it in front of several journalists. 

The anticipated moment symbolizes Brazil becoming a democracy again, and the fulfilling answer behind Rubens Paiva’s cryptic death is finally revealed. She even quips that she never thought that she would be so happy to see a death certificate. This revelatory announcement is not just a win for the Paivas but for all of Brazil. These sudden disappearances are not discussed enough in the classroom, and I’m Still Here brings much needed closure to this scary, murky chapter in a country known for soccer and the instantly recognizable statue, Christ the Redeemer. 

 Demi Moore may have understood the body horror campiness that made The Substance quite a ride. This movie’s satirical approach to celebrityhood and public image was, very much, a comeback for the actress, who was associated with the Brat Pack back in the 1980s. David Cronenberg would probably grin during its ridiculous but shocking finale. Anora was a critic’s favorite mainly because of Mikey Madison’s home run performance as Ani, a sex worker chasing after fairytale love. This award-winning movie’s subversion of a Cinderella story catapulted her to the A-list in Hollywood. The 26-year-old actress’s role ostensibly tackles the ongoing tensions between the U.S.A. and Russia.  Although their performances were excellent in these competing films, Ms. Moore and Ms. Madison didn’t match how well Ms. Torres juggled everything that she endured throughout I’m Still Here. She is, indeed, still here, and she stays strong. It is my favorite acting performance of 2024. Now this is a leading role that I will still be thinking about several years from now. 

 As a surprise bonus, Fernanda Torres’s mother, Fernanda Montenegro, also portrays Eunice Paiva living with Alzheimer's disease during the final years of her life. It is quite fitting to witness Ms. Montenegro, who is arguably the greatest Brazilian actress, share a melancholy, solemn moment where she watches the news about her long-deceased husband and the National Truth Commission’s investigation into what exactly happened to him and dozens of others. 

I’m Still Here won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards. Fernanda Torres also won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. 
My top two favorite films of 2024 are Dune: Part Two and I’m Still Here. 


Written by William Anthony, Librarian I, Citizen Services at the Central Library 
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