I'm Still Here

Films featuring dark political themes are an acquired taste for many moviegoers, but, when they tell personal stories within such a context, they generally become more accessible for audience members, even those who might not ordinarily gravitate to pictures in this genre. Thats a goal expertly accomplished in the latest from director Walter Salles. This superb fact-based offering tells the heart-wrenching story of former Brazilian politician Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello) who, in 1971, was seized by, and subsequently disappeared at the hands of, the military dictatorship that overran in the country at that time. Paiva, who was working as an engineer when captured, was taken because of his liberal-leaning politics, especially in his clandestin...

The Paiva family leads an ordinary life until one night when a knock on their door changes things for ever. Rubens (Selton Mello) was formerly a Labour Party congressman in Brazil but now that the military have taken over, he is suspected of ties with the outlawed Communists. He is taken away and shortly after his wife Eunice (Fernanda Torres) and their elder daughter is also taken in for interrogation. For the next twenty minutes or so as she spends an intangible time in jail, we are exposed to some of the most effective cinematic menace I've ever felt. There is no graphic violence nor very little angry dialogue. Indeed, there isn't a great deal of actual physical threat at all. Her imprisonment and her deprivation of information is the st...

'Im Still Here' undoubtedly merits praise, it's an astutely made picture regarding a dark time in Brazilian history. The film's biggest plus, for me, is how warmly they portray the Paivas, it genuinely feels as if you are watching a real family; the actors play a big part in that, of course.

Fernanda Torres is the standout, rightly so given she leads much of what we see. An excellent performance! Selton Mello sticks out too, as do all of the relatively younger cast members; e.g. Luiza Kosovski and Valentina Herszage. There isn't anyone onscreen who puts a foot wrong.

I will say that I don't think this needed to be a 138 minute movie, there are a couple of moments where I felt like it was going to conclude and it didn't. This isn't a m...