Best Picture and Best International Feature Film Oscar nominee I’m Still Here is making history as the first Brazilian film nominated for Best Picture. A critic darling, the film is receiving glowing reviews, standing at a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. But what stands out even more is its discussion of the darker parts of Brazil’s history, specifically the 21-year military dictatorship lasting from 1964 to 1985. Now more than ever, representing political extremism and history on screen is of the utmost importance, and that’s exactly what the film gets right.
Directed by Walter Salles and starring Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here is more than just a political drama. The film is based on the real lives of Rubens Paiva and his family, discussing how Brazil’s military dictatorship quickly took over their lives. Paiva was a Congressman at the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies and was taken prisoner and tortured during the military dictatorship for potential connections to political exiles. The film closely follows his wife, Eunice, as she tries to hold her family together while also trying to get the press on her side to bring her husband home.
The film explores life under the dictatorship in a more indirect way, centering on how a family’s life gradually changes until it seems unrecognizable. Eunice, taken prisoner herself, clings on to any hope she can, seeking out information on her husband’s whereabouts. As reality sets in and the family begins to process what could be happening to them, the audience is given a window into the lives of his five children and how they’re managing the fallout.
More than just a movie
Within the 21 years of the military dictatorship, National Geographic cites that around 2,000 people were taken prisoner and tortured, with 434 guaranteed casualties. Moreover, the film is closely based on the memoir by Paiva’s son, Marcelo Rubens Paiva. It’s intensely personal, but it still reflects what many people could have been experiencing under dictatorships, most specifically the attempt to seem unaffected to not appear suspicious.
I’m Still Here is currently in theaters and available for purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video.