Political strife puts family to test in ‘I’m Still Here’
The gripping “I’m Still Here” is among the best sagas to incorporate family, fascism and Foosball. And if allowed the use of another “F” word, I would throw in “fabulous” to define the movie’s two Fernandas, Torres and Montenegro, the real-life mother and daughter charged with depicting the film’s defiant heroine at various ages in director Walter Salles’ sprawling political thriller.
Set mostly in the early 1970s in the wake of the 1964 military takeover of the Brazilian government, “I’m Still Here” is very much a companion of Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” in that it offers a microcosm of an authoritarian régime by focusing attention on one family’s struggle against oppression. That would be the Paiva clan comprised of patriarch Rubens, a former congressman; his wife, Eunice; and their five children, Vera, Eliana, Nalu, Marcelo and Babiu.
We first meet them at Christmas 1970, which is summer in Brazil, a time when the beaches of Rio are bustling, and the Paivas have a front-row seat to the action, living on a street directly across from the ocean in a handsome, walled-off Spanish villa. The well-appointed home is a regular beehive of activity, with friends and family constantly popping in and out on their way to and from the beach. Love and joy abound, despite the occasional presence of troop carriers and army helicopters marring an otherwise idyllic backdrop.
From the get-go, you long to be a part of this seemingly nonstop fiesta, which keeps the Paivas’ live-in housekeeper, Zezé (Pri Helena), hopping from morning until night. Even more so now that the clan has adopted an adorable mutt Rubens (Selton Mello) affectionately names Pimpão after Vera’s (Valentina Herszage) shaggy-haired boyfriend (Caio Horowicz). But the perpetual sound of music and laughter is about to be abruptly interrupted as a small cadre of mysterious men crash the homestead and seize Rubens on trumped-up charges of being a communist sympathizer.
What ensues is a harrowing two-front fight by Eunice (Golden Globe-winner Fernanda Torres) to maintain a sense of normalcy in her children’s lives while battling tooth and nail to first determine where Rubens has been taken and then get him freed. Little does she know it’s a mission that will consume the next 25 years of her life.
In adapting Marcelo Pavia’s memoir of the same name, writers Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega consistently endeavor beyond the banal recounting not of a story about the disappeared, but of the collateral psychological damage inflicted upon the people left behind, uncertain whether they will ever see their husband/father again. It’s shattering to watch, but you also draw inspiration from the ferocity Eunice exhibits in her refusal to back down despite becoming a target of persistent threats, intimidation and 24/7 surveillance. At one point, she and her 16-year-old daughter, Eliana (Luiza Kosovski), are spirited away to an undisclosed location with bags over their heads, forced to name names, even though they know nothing of Rubens’ alleged leftist activities.
These are the moments when the power of Torres’ flawless performance is at its most intense, as she palpably conveys the anger, frustration and dread of living on pins and needles, never knowing what dangers the future might hold. It’s as if she’s cast in a dual role, displaying fury and indignation before the eyes of the junta, and serenity and assurance at home, where she’s determined to sustain morale amid the growing suspicion by her children that she’s hiding something.
There’s an equal amount of impact in the film’s quieter moments, such as a lovely scene when 14-year-old Nalu (Bárbara Luz) sneaks into her father’s closet and envelopes herself in one of his shirts. It’s a perfect example of the subtle poignancy that is a trademark of Salles, who last attracted Oscar buzz for his 1998 road picture, “Central Station,” starring Torres’ mother, Fernanda Montenegro. Now in her 90s, she appears late in the film as an aged Eunice inflicted with Alzheimer’s. Confined to a wheelchair and afforded zero dialogue, she strikes a dominant figure, doing all her acting through her expressive eyes.
The resemblance between the two Fernandas is uncanny, helping to facilitate what might have been a jarring transition from the 1970s to the 21st century. But it’s in keeping with the authenticity Salles demands in incorporating fashion, hairstyles and sets that scream the 70s. And that’s also where Foosball fits in, as that ’70s fad makes a pair of cameos, first when 12-year-old Marcelo and Rubens square off in a late-night battle, and then just days later, when Marcelo unwittingly goes head-to-head with one of his dad’s kidnappers.
In both instances, the game establishes a time and place, as well as lend a levity aimed at preventing the film from becoming morose. It’s the same with the running joke about Eunice’s obsession with feeding her family souffles. On paper, these devices may sound silly, but on screen, they put a human face on an episode in Brazilian history where humanity was in short supply.
You sense the effect of that scarcity most through Salles’ use of home movies and family photos, especially the ones taken at rapturous times, like Vera’s bon voyage before heading off to college in London, safe from possible retribution from the autocracy she freely denounces. It’s a photo that elicits melancholy each time it appears. Ditto for the image of a baby tooth the family’s youngest, 10-year-old Babiu (Cora Mora), entrusts to her dad during an impossibly sweet scene the two share on the beach.
That’s not to imply that “I’m Still Here” (not to be confused with the same-titled 2010 mockumentary by Joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck) is overly sentimental. It’s not. It’s just the opposite: dark, often messy stuff in which secrets and lies become the order of the day, whether you’re a member of the military government or a mother fiercely attempting to protect her children from the truth. Right or wrong, you admire Eunice for her tenacity, driven by love and devotion in the face of unbearable anguish.
Movie review
I’m Still Here
Rated: PG-13 for smoking, drug use, brief nudity, some strong language and thematic content
Cast: Fernanda Torres, Selton Mello, Fernanda Montenegro, Guilherme Silveira, Valentina Herszage, Luiza Kosovski, Bárbara Luz, Cora Mora.
Director: Walter Salles
Writers: Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega
Runtime: 137 minutes
Where: In theaters Jan. 17 (limited) before expanding throughout January
Grade: A-
