Richard Crouse

SYNOPSIS: In “I’m Still Here,” a new political drama now playing on theatres, Golden Globe winner Fernanda Torres stars as real-life Brazilian lawyer and activist Eunice Paiva, in the aftermath of her husband’s forced disappearance during the military dictatorship in Brazil.

CAST: Fernanda Torres, Fernanda Montenegro, Selton Mello, Guilherme Silveira, Antonio Saboia, Valentina Herszage, Maria Manoella, Luiza Kosovski, Marjorie Estiano, Barbara Luz. Directed by Walter Salles.

REVIEW: Set in 1971, the first thirty minutes of “I’m Still Here” lures the viewer in with scenes of Eunice and Rubens Paiva (Fernanda Torres and Selton Mello) and their five kids, living in Rio de Janeiro, happy and contented despite living under military dictatorship. The housewife—she became a lawyer later in life—and former congressman are upper-middle-class, comfortable and seemingly untouched by the new chaotic world order until their daughter Vera (Valentina Herszage) is interrogated by police at gunpoint.

Later the family’s life is upended when Reubens is detained for routine questioning and “disappeared,” never to be seen again.

In her search for answers Eunice becomes our guide to the darkest recesses of Brazil’s recent history of human rights violations.

“I’m Still Here” features a high-wire performance from Fernanda Torres that finds its power in its understatement. The depths of her anguish are mightily portrayed without histrionics, just pure determination and emotion. As the film’s tone turns darker Torres doesn’t allow the story’s weight to drag the performance down. She never forgets that Eunice is a person, a mother, a grieving widow. She may be remembered for her activism, but Torres takes pains to ensure that she is not reduced to an avatar or overly mythologized. It’s lovely work that brings real humanity to a story touched by inhumanity.

“I’m Still Here” sidesteps melodrama to paint a human portrait of grief in the microcosm, and the hellish results of authoritarianism in the macro.