There were a few surprises during the Golden Globes ceremony. The biggest of them all: Fernanda Torres’s award for Best Drama Actress. This is in addition to names like Nicole Kidman and Angelina Jolie. But this is not a coincidence or luck. The truth is that the actress, daughter of the iconic Fernanda Montenegro, is starring in one of the films that may surprise during the Oscar nominations. It’s about I’m still here (Ainda Estu is here in Portuguese) by Walter Salle, exploring suffering, tenacity and violence from a new perspective.
The film, set in Brazil in 1970, tells the story of the Paiva family and their fight against the military dictatorship that controlled the country for three decades. But before it becomes a political manifesto or a painful portrait of a critical situation, the film explores the ways in which violence manifests itself. Moreover, in aspects of political and military repression, from a realistic point of view and very far common stereotypes in such productions.
And this is thanks to the screenplay by Murilo Hauser and Heitor Loregui, adapting the novel of the same name by Marcelo Rubens Paiva, published in 2015. In the text, the author talks about how his family survived the siege of power after the forced disappearance of his father at the hands of the Brazilian government. It’s much more about how his mother, Eunice (played by Fernanda Torres in the film), faced the odds to not only protect her family, but also to seek justice. Something I would eventually achieve despite failure, danger and the risk of ending up in prison or worse.
A tragic story from a sensitive point of view
To tell a tragic story out of necessity, director Walter Salle decides to start by exploring the family life of his main characters. So, the first minutes I’m still hereshow Brazil from two points of view. On the one hand, there is the beauty of the famous beaches and landscapes, as well as Paiva’s desire to live as peacefully as possible in the midst of difficult terrain. Outside the family home, the country lives in a state of constant tension. This is due to the brutal police system that controls every attempt at subversion.
On the other hand, what exactly can military and political cruelty lead to? The film does not stop at showing the horrors of the military dictatorship that Brazil suffered, and one of the highlights of the film is its depiction of the totalitarian and brutal climate that the citizens had to endure. Especially when the regime used all its resources to avoid any controversy or voices of dissent. This is what will ultimately happen to Paiva. Father Reubens (Selton Mello) is a former congressman who is trying to exploit the few resources and contacts he still has to help expatriates as much as possible.
Therefore, he is considered a subversive. So when an important political figure is kidnapped, he or she is immediately caught up in the ensuing wave of violence. I’m still here explores the increasingly dire climate facing the country with care, respect and precision. But especially the suffering of the Paiva family. Soon Rubens is kidnapped and forced to disappear. This will force his wife Eunice to try to find him at any cost. All this time she herself is subjected to violence – she is detained and tortured for twelve days – and in the worst political and judicial conditions.
An actress who surprises and touches
But, without a doubt, the most striking thing about I’m still hereis the performance of Fernanda Torres as Eunice Paiva. The famous Brazilian politician appears in fiction as a center of strength, kindness and determination. Especially when you need to ensure that your children can lead as normal a life as possible. while she tries to find Rubens.
Both the script and director Walter Salle generously explore Eunice as a character and a symbol. Thus, the film follows her as she battles endless party bureaucracy, government lies, and the fear of lynch mobs. I’m still here It is not easy in either what it offers or how it is treated. It is nothing more than a way of repelling and containing violence, and a struggle to maintain dignity in brutal circumstances. Something that Eunice embodies, and it gives the film a tone of powerful condemnation. against abuses of power and the horrors of legalized violence.
Even with its grim ending, the film insists on maintaining this point of view. Eunice (played in her old age by Fernanda Montenegro) does not admit defeat and, moreover, strives to show that hope is a form of resistance. A message from the periphery that turns this Brazilian film into a rare, brilliant and profound work worthy of global attention. This will likely be achieved during the upcoming Oscar ceremony.
Source: Hiper Textual
