Miss Flicks

I’m Still Here: Film Review

Fernanda Torres pulled off an upset at the Golden Globes when she won Best Actress – Drama. Now I’ve seen I’m Still Here, I fully support this decision and hope she does the same at the Oscars.

Walter Salles‘ latest film is set during the military dictatorship in Brazil and tells the true story of former congressman Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello) and his wife Eunice Paiva (Torres). One day in January 1971, men turn up at their home and arrest Rubens and he is never seen again. Eunice’s idyllic, privileged life is turned upside down; she campaigns for answers over her husband’s forced disappearance and is constantly fed lies. If that fight wasn’t distressing enough, she also has to look after their five children while they run out of money.

It is rare for a foreign language film to get nominated for Best Picture, and I’m Still Here is the first Brazilian production to do so, which speaks volumes about its quality. I would have also liked to see a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay because the writing is excellent. The way it establishes the family dynamics in the beginning is wonderful. Being a family of seven, it’s chaotic and there’s always a lot going on but they were happy and Rubens was a loving, kind father (although he was secretly involved in risky business). I liked them and was into their story from the get-go.

My only criticism is the two time jumps at the end. While I can understand the reasoning for their inclusion, I found them unnecessary and would have been fine if the film ended in the 1970s instead of catching us up with the family in 1996 and again in 2014. The last one in particular felt like too much and the film overstayed its welcome a little bit.

Torres deserves all the acclaim and awards for playing the strong and resilient Eunice, who has to cope with the stress and torment of not knowing what happened to her husband while putting on a brave face for her kids, dealing with running the house and sorting out their finances. It’s a lot for one person to handle and I don’t know how she didn’t buckle under the weight of it all. 

But she’s not the only impressive member of the cast. I was blown away by her on-screen children, who all feel so believably like a family. In particular, her teenage daughter Eliana (Luiza Kosovski) knows too much about the situation for her age and matures too soon as a result.

I couldn’t believe that I’m Still Here is based on a true story. It’s shocking, moving (yes I cried) and thought-provoking.

In cinemas from Friday 21st February