“I’m Still Here” is a stunning, two-hour family drama by Brazilian director Walter Salles. The film is set in 1970s Rio de Janeiro during the early days of Brazil’s military dictatorship (1964-1985). The film is based on the 2015 memoir of Marcelo Rubens Paiva of the same name as the movie.
The film follows the Paiva family through the political and social upheavals of Brazil’s early dictatorship. It focuses on the struggles of Rubens Paiva’s wife, Eunice (Fernanda Torres), as she protects and cares for her five children in the wake of her husband’s disappearance. The first part of the film explores the Paiva family’s idyllic lifestyle juxtaposed against the social and political fracturing caused by the new military dictatorship. The narrative gradually unfolds, allowing the viewer to see the family’s colorful dinner parties and beach outings. This movie is unique in that the director chose to shoot it on 35mm film rather than on digital cameras. This lends the film a warm color palette with saturated reds and yellows combined with cold blues and greens.
The characters document their lives on a handheld 8mm film camera, the footage of which is then played back for the viewer. By showing us what the characters witnessed through these cameras, the filmmaker directly immerses us into their lives.
After Rubens Paiva’s arrest, the family remains in Rio while Eunice works to determine her husband’s fate. Eventually, the family moves to the town of São Paulo, leaving their old life behind them.
The film jumps ahead 25 years to 1996, where we reconnect with Eunice Paiva, who has become an Indigenous rights lawyer and professor. Then, we jump again to 2014, where, at a Paiva family reunion, Eunice watches a news clip about her husband. The film ends with a few short, biographical statements of the life of Eunice Paiva (1929-2018).“I’m Still Here” is a truly great film that explores ideas of resilience and nostalgia. It reflects the dualism between the fragility and importance of memory, embodied in the home-movie film reels and photographs kept as mementos. “I’m Still Here” is unique in that story elements that directors might typically include more prominently, like the era’s politics or named characters’ fates, take place off screen.
These “peripheral” elements are only meaningful to the narrative because they break down the family’s idyllic life, and impact Eunice Paiva. I felt the beginning of the film was more from a child’s perspective, with Rubens Paiva’s disappearance marking an abrupt switch to Eunice’s mature perspective.
The Oscars nominated “I’m Still Here” for three categories: Best International Film, Best Actress (Fernanda Torres), and Best Picture (Brazil’s first nomination for this category). It went on to win a very deserved Oscar for Best International Film.
