I’m Still Here Movie Review

“I’m Still Here” overcomes limits to tell a story you may never have known. Now that you do, you could feel compelled to get more involved in what you see as injustices all around you. The setup is long, but you must pay attention. It’s in theaters today and is a must-see.

Based on actual events, the film starts in 1971 in Brazil, under a military dictatorship. People are enjoying their lives, unprepared when a military coup d’état occurs. All was grand when President João Goulart was taken out by a military coup, starting a Brazilian dictatorship that lasted from 1964 to 1985. This harrowing story comes from the book by Marcelo Rubens Paiva. When he was young, he and his affluent family enjoyed the good life in Rio de Janeiro. His father, Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello), is a former congressman and member of the Labor Party. What has happened in the country hasn’t touched them personally, but they’re aware of it and don’t like it.

Rubens says something against the coup and, by gunpoint, is suddenly taken away for a deposition. After he’s gone, they return for his wife, Eunice, played by Fernanda Torres, and one of his young daughters, Eliana, played by Luiza Kosovski. The family is terrified. What Eunice is capable of when she’s held against her will and interrogated by the police to give up her friends and family is an ode to the power of love and optimism.

Played so well by Torres, you feel the sorrow that Eunice carries around throughout the length of the film. The expressions on her face are moving. Torres kills it when she has Eunice attempting to hide what’s in her heart. And when she’s around her kids, she endeavors to appear as if everything is fine. She also attempts to hide from her family that you are no longer able to live the life you did before these people came into power. You can be taken to jail, as Rubens was, if you refuse to be in lockstep with the regime.

Life changes for everyone under the dictatorship, and money is running low. Eunice and Rubens were about to build a house, but instead, she sells the one they’re in and moves away to better afford classes to become a lawyer and raise the children. Leaving the house is a pivotal moment for young Babiu. It’s when she “buries” the hopes of ever seeing their father again. Eunice tells a reporter that someone can come into your house, in a Democracy with a judicial system, through family members in jail, never to be seen again. She says it’s unacceptable, stating that those doing this are “protected by a system of false news.” That sounds familiar.

But twenty-five years later, Eunice is a teacher and tells students about the Constitution and explains the government’s need to guarantee Indigenous peoples’ right to their land. She also reminds people that if the cruel people who had something to do with the coup, no matter how old, aren’t held to account, somebody will repeat their actions with impunity.

The film is intense, grabbing you and not letting go. You can’t believe what you’re seeing, but you can put yourself in this family’s shoes as you know what happened to the German people in the 1930s and see changes in the United States. Go into this with the attention it needs from you as it’s an important message for you to learn from history so you won’t be finding yourself living through what the Paiva’s experienced. 

Release Dates: 

Phoenix: Friday January 31^st

 Las Vegas: Friday February 7^th

• Tucson: Friday February 7^th
• Santa Fe: Friday February 7^th

 Albuquerque: Friday, February 21^st

• Reno: TBD
• Salt Lake City: TBD