Rio de Janeiro, 1970. Under military dictatorship.
When Eunice noticed the sound of the helicopter, the weather was clear on the beach. Her children were laughing and having a good time – they just found a small, cute stray dog who they wanted to take home – the beach was full of people and Eunice was swimming in the sea. On the surface, this may have been just another wonderful day in Lebron in 1970, but the first minute I’m still here Tell us right away that’s not the case. Every moment of tenderness, happiness or normality that happens in the first half of the hour of the movie is surrounded by this indestructible, oppressive feeling – bad things happen to people all over Brazil, and bad things happen to this family.
According to the autobiography of the same name written by Marcelo Rubens Paiva, I’m still here It tells the story of the Paiva family: Eunice Paiva (Fernanda Torres, Fernanda Montenegro the End the End), Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello) and his five children. After Rubens was asked by military agents and never returned, Eunice and the children were left behind themselves, starting with the silence of Rubens’ whereabouts.
I’m still here. Pictured: Fernanda Torres is Eunice, Selton Mello plays Rubens, Valentina Herszage plays Veroca, Barbara Luz. all rights reserved
The first half hour of the film lets viewers enter Parva’s house and immerse themselves in the climate of the 1970s. It shows something special – vinyl records are played here and there, and the Egg Cheese Sufflé of Unis brings comfort and happiness, all the dances with friends and siblings at parties, and everyone coming out of the house. The house is full of life and much more to do, beyond the laughter and innocent joy that is about to approach them. The film also shows some of the bad things that started out – an older sibling is violently inspected by police and her friends in a quick but effective scene that details the existing dictatorship, which is all about the news, and it is also Rubens chatting with his friends on the beach, when Paivas chatting with their loved ones on the beach, when their loved ones played a photo everywhere.
“The public holiday on January 20, 1971 was a day without an end. It took us a long time to understand why this day exists and why it is.” – Excerpt Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s book I’m Still Here.
Another thing that makes the next painful for the last half hour is how Rubes shows how he has a relationship with each of his children: while talking to Marcelo (Guilherme Silveira) for the young Marcelo, Antonio Saboia as his adult version of Antonio Saboia), holding up Eliana (Luiza Kosovski, Marjorie Estiano), and finally, before being taken away by agents, before being taken away by agents, before being taken away by agents. Selton Mello resonates with people like Rubens, the strong, warm character radiates energy to everyone until the curtains of the house are forced to close by the military agent, and he is caught, his chemistry with the actors, especially with Torres, which is a special part of the film that works so well.
After Rubens walked for a few hours, Eunice and Eliana were also taken away for interrogation, and horror continued to evolve. What we see is horrible, yes – screaming, blood washed away, deprived sleep and all the violence – but what we can’t see, only what is implicit and what is left to imagine, they build a living nightmare. Torres did heavy, excellent performance work in this section, and Torres began hitting all the right notes in a fascinating and devastating way when Eunice was released after a few days of torture.
Eunice has a lot to deal with: the kidnappers are denying Rubens’ prison, they refuse to admit what they have done to him and to him; the bank won’t let Younis withdraw some money from his account, making her desperate-not only does she have five children to raise, but the bills won’t stop coming. There is also Paiva’s housekeeper Zezé (Pri Helena), who cared for the children after Eunice and Rubens were taken away. It’s been months since the last payment and Eunice can’t afford her services. Then, the adopted puppy Pimpão, who started the movie, died, and an afternoon Eunice was hit by the truth: Rubens did not return.
A family friend confirmed this: he was dead and their daily life is now over. This provides Torres with space for some of the best scenes in the film, as this independent woman is deeply hurt and painful in silence, so she cannot speak freely. Her eyes tell the whole story. Fernanda Torres’ tour is the best and most attractive person of the year, while Eunice’s quiet and tender erotic attitude continues to the film until the last minute, when her last moment played by Torres’ mother, Fernanda Montenegro, is in a devastating, incredible scene where the actress masters her abilities thoroughly.
I’m still here. Photo: Fernanda Torres. all rights reserved
Once Veroca returned from Europe, almost everything was solved: they no longer had housekeepers, their house was for sale, and they were moving to St. Paul. The news for the children was not very good; it is worth mentioning that some of them still wished their fathers were back. After all, Eunice didn’t tell them right away that she knew Rubens was dead. By the way, this is very important. Rubens did not tell Younis about the letters because he did not want to hurt Younis and the children. Eunice hides the unpleasant truths of the children – she doesn’t talk about the time she was tortured and left home, and she doesn’t talk about what happened to Rubens. Isn’t this how some of us treat not only the dark ages of our country, but also the cruel part of history? Avoid conversations and hope everything will be forgotten soon-and there is so much silence.
If so, I’m still here It is a story of the importance of memory – we need to remember what happened and we must respect this past respect – but it also involves the importance of small things that can trigger memory, such as old photos, videotapes, letters, letters and even official documents, which all play a role here and play an important role throughout the film, thus aggravating the central role of memory in the dark times.
I’m still here. Pictured: Fernanda Torres plays Eunice, Luiza Kosovski plays Eliana, Guilherme Silveira plays Marcelo, Cora is Babiu as Babiu, Valentina Herszage, Veroca, Barbara Luz, Nalu as Barbara Luz. all rights reserved
Directed by Walter Salles and scripted by Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega I’m still here This great, painful drama is a place to win justice in the spotlight during this awards season, especially after Fernanda Torres won the historic Golden Globes. Torres and the film also received an Oscar nomination, a scene that recreates the 1999 with Montenegro and Salles’ Centrast, which is so cute. One good thing about this visibility is how it became a gateway to other Brazilian or Latin American films that took place during the Cold War or were not associated with dictatorship – just hope Torres’s diverse filmology, Bruno Barreto September 4th day (1997), Eduardo Coutinho Play (2007) and Jorge Furtado Basic hygiene, movie (2007) is a great advice for the joy of the comedy crowd.
Another interesting thing about it is that it reflects the struggles needed to find justice and fight injustice, as well as the turn of the trend and the ease of what we call the loss of democracy. Eunice fights to acknowledge Rubens’s death. After Younis obtained Rubens’ death certificate, there was a scene where the reporter asked Younis to follow “Isn’t the government more urgent than the past remedies?” The answer is No. After the final scene, the film tells us that military forces admitted to the murder of Rubens decades later. However, none of them were arrested for their work. Rubens Paiva was a former member of Congress at the time of the abduction, and the Paiva family had some contact and some influence. However, all of this happened to them. In this sense, I’m still here It is an invitation to think about many other families who lived similar stories during this military dictatorship, facing similar horrors and similar endings – perhaps a way to remember all of these victims, perhaps never forgotten.
I’m still available hereN Brazil, the United States, the United Kingdom and Irish cinemas as well as many other countries in Europe and Latin America.
Feel free to comment on your thoughts on the movie and thank you for reading!
