I’m Still Here (15)

In the early 1970s, the military dictatorship in Brazil reaches its height. The Paiva family – Rubens, Eunice, and their five children – live in a beachside house in Rio, open to all their friends. One day, Rubens is taken for questioning and does not return.

An intense film based on the true story of Eunice Paiva, a mother and activist
coping with the forced disappearance of her husband, the dissident Brazilian politician Rubens Paiva. Despite being the target of an unsuccessful boycott by the Brazilian far-right, within 3 months of its release, the film surpassed 5 million admissions.

A beautiful film that portrays the strength of an individual fighting back; a triumph of humanity over state terror.

Portugese, French with english Subtitles. 135 minutes. Director Walter Salles. Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (2025) . Golden Globe; Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for Fernanda Torres

A personal review by guest critic Beth Travers:

I’m Still Here, Walter Salles’ Academy Award winning historical film tells the story of the Paiva family living in 1970s Brazil. The film opens on a beach in Rio, capturing a family full of life and love for one another. I found myself craving a place at their table and in their volley-ball games, lulled into the illusion of a happy-ever-after through the film’s comforting palette of yellow and brown. But things aren’t as they seem; the warmth of this family is swiftly disrupted by Brazil’s far right military, who come into their home and take their father away for questioning. 

Mother of five, Eunice Paiva, played by Fernanda Torres, carries us and her children through her family’s period of uncertainty and immense stress, as Rubens Paiva becomes one of Brazil’s best known “Politically Disappeared”.  I was captured by Torres’s performance, feeling my heart break at her stifled composure and quiet strength. Her attempt to maintain stability for her children, while relentlessly seeking justice and answers, exposed me to a new kind of female resilience. 

This period of Brazil’s history was brand new to me, opening my eyes to a time tainted by its far-right, military dictatorship, and serves as a timely reminder of history repeating itself. 

I would have loved to have learnt more about Eunice’s later work as a human rights activist and lawyer, seeking justice for other victims of political oppression. But, overall, Torres’s portrayal was still thoroughly deserving of her Golden Globe for Best Actress.