This is brilliant Brazilian film from 2024. I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui) was a major awards contender that year and won the Oscar for Best International Film.
It’s a true story and fits in the genre of political biographical drama. Set in 1970, it follows the life of Eunice Paiva as she struggles to raise five children alone. Her husband, Rubens Paiva, sets on a lifelong mission to discover what happened to him after his forced disappearance by the military dictatorship in Brazil.
Successfully Fighting Oppression in I’m Still Here
The film is adapted from Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s memoir of the same name (2015).
In April 1964, following a coup d’état by the Brazilian Armed Forces (supported by the US government), placed them in authoritarian control. This lasted for 21 years until March 1985.
The dictatorship began clamping down on whomever it viewed as a “communist” dissident, disappearing citizens from the streets. One such individual was Rubens Paiva (played by Selton Mello), a former Brazilian politician turned civil engineer.
After the military coup, without his family’s knowledge he kept helping dissidents flee the country or go into hiding.
That is until his home is raided by the military in January 1971. As depicted in the film, Rubens Paiva is arrested, taken away from his family, and that is the last time he was ever seen in public. This extended scene displays how it played out (again, this is all autobiographical).
His wife Eunice (Fernanda Torres in a phenomenal performance) is left to take care of the couple’s five children. To make matters worse, she’s then also arrested and spends 12 days in a prison cell, in between questioning over her husband’s involvement in leftist movements.
She’s eventually released without charge, but is provided no information about her husband.
The search to determine his fate, alongside getting his death acknowledged by the Brazilian government, would take her the next 25 years. One where Eunice has her mourning moments of sadness. She continues with life, even though everything around her can never be the same.
It’s very impressive. Across its 138 minute runtime it quietly builds momentum as a devastating attack on hard right politics. I’m Still Here is a deeply political film, one with an obvious message given the world’s current political leanings.
Eunice Paiva upended her life to deal with the aftermath, graduating from the Faculty of Law at Mackenzie Presbyterian University with a degree when she was 48. She used her new skills to become a human rights activist, battling to overcome the military dictatorship’s closed records.
She did eventually do all that, with her husband later officially classified as deceased in 1996.
It’s a message in determined stoicism. Fernanda Torres is fantastic here, too, showing a steely resolve that we know some reviewers found confusing (Peter Bradshaw at The Guardian gave the film 3/5, stating it’s odd Eunice never cries… whatever, matey).
The film just feels so alive (courtesy of Adrian Teijido’s excellent cinematography), packed with colour and culture. Rio de Janeiro is represented as a lively, bustling city where life continues with great vibrance, despite the dictatorship. And within that depiction is the core message of I’m Still Here. Get on with things and be true to yourself.
The Production of I’m Still Here
The Brazilian far-right attempted to boycott the film by denying there was a Brazilian dictatorship, failed in their efforts, and since then it’s found status as a modern classic.
To note, the Brazilian government is still paying reparations to those affected by the regime decades ago.
It made $36.4 million at the box office off its $9 million budget. Then it smashed the major awards ceremonies, rightfully bagging a Best International Feature Film Oscar. Fernanda Torres was nominated for Bes Actress, but didn’t win (boo, hiss!).
Now, a note on the source material.
Marcelo Rubens Paiva wrote his memoirs about how his father’s disappearance affected his mother, family, and upbringing. It’s only mentioned toward the end of the film, but he also suffered another tragedy early in his life. He was studying at university, aged 20, when he fractured his spine in a swimming accident and is tetraplegic.
After physiotherapy he regained some use of his arms and hands, which in 1983 led him to write his Happy Old Year to (Feliz Ano Velho) about his injury and recovery.
The production was shot in May and June 2023 in Rio de Janeiro, with some shoots later taking place in Sāo Paulo. To get the film wrapped, it only took 16 weeks, with Adrian Teijido filming on a 35mm camera to recreate the sense of 1970s Brazil using old fashioned film.
Once I’m Still Here launched, it happened to coincide almost 40 years after democracy was returned to Brazil. This led many Brazilians to embrace the film, especially during the 2025 carnival season where Fernanda Torres was a key figurehead during the festival.
Another reminder of the power of film! As Alan Rickman once said, a great movie really can change the world and make a difference. We’ve seen that again here.
