One second, you might be having fun with probably the most memorable days of your life — sharing heartfelt laughter and savouring your favorite meals at a neighborhood resort; the subsequent, you sit throughout from that very desk, teary-eyed, watching one other household create related reminiscences, as you grapple with the truth that you could be by no means expertise such moments once more. Set in opposition to the backdrop of Brazil’s army dictatorship (1964–1985), director Walter Salles’ political biographical drama I’m Nonetheless Right here — screened lately on the 2024 Worldwide Movie Competition of Kerala (IFFK) — is a profoundly well-crafted movie, telling the story of Eunice Paiva (performed by a superb Fernanda Torres) and her 5 kids, whose lives are irrevocably modified after the compelled disappearance of her husband, Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello), a former congressman, by the hands of the army regime.
What permits the Portuguese-language movie to resonate so deeply with audiences is that it’s primarily based on Ainda Estou Aqui, the autobiography of Eunice and Rubens’ son Marcelo Rubens Paiva — a famend Brazilian novelist, playwright and journalist — thus imbuing the narrative with a palpable sense of authenticity and emotional depth.
I’m Nonetheless Right here opens in Rio de Janeiro through the Seventies, when the army dictatorship had reached its peak and the armed forces held absolute energy, conducting arbitrary searches and detaining individuals with out rationalization or accountability. Amidst this local weather of worry, the liberal Paiva household resides in a “peaceable” beachside neighbourhood, surrounded by pals and a close-knit neighborhood. Of their family, politics isn’t only a topic for the adults; even the youthful members of the family actively interact in political discourse and intently monitor the occasions unfolding round them, demonstrating their dedication to civic accountability.
What makes the movie so poignant — even with out graphic depictions of bodily torture — is Salles’ exceptional skill to seize the household’s moments of pleasure and connection earlier than Rubens’ compelled disappearance, thus underscoring the devastating extent of their loss.
Within the very first act itself, Salles skillfully depicts the dire state of the nation the place freedom has turn into a delusion. That is vividly portrayed when the couple’s eldest daughter, Vera Paiva (Valentina Herszage), is travelling in a automotive together with her pals and as they’re having fun with themselves — listening to music, singing alongside and Vera capturing all of it on a video digital camera — their pleased second is abruptly interrupted by an Military checkpoint the place the troopers deal with the group with blatant disregard for his or her humanity, treating them with the roughness one may reserve for non-fragile parcels. They push and pull the youths at each command, asserting their authority for no obvious motive. By capturing with precision this abrupt shift in tone and ambiance inside one scene, Salles immerses the viewers within the oppressive actuality the characters endure.
Watch I’m Nonetheless Right here trailer right here:
The movie additionally excels in portraying how Brazilian civilians attempt to discover pleasure in small, fleeting moments, regardless of realizing that such happiness might be taken away straight away. That is illustrated via a masterfully crafted and staged scene the place Rubens is taken into custody, which additionally serves as a microcosm of the bigger horrors the movie explores. One second, Rubens and Eunice are sharing laughter; the subsequent, armed males silently enter their residence and with out issuing threats or elevating their voices, they inform Rubens with chilling seriousness that he should accompany them to make a deposition, providing no additional rationalization. Eunice pleads with them, declaring that Rubens is just a former Brazilian (Labour Get together) congressman who’s now not politically lively, however her reasoning falls on deaf ears. The lads stay unflinching, demanding Rubens comply. Conscious of the potential penalties of resistance, Rubens agrees and prepares to depart.
This sequence powerfully illustrates the army’s unchecked energy — a actuality not restricted to ’70s Brazil however current in any authoritarian regime or occupied territory at present as properly. The authority to detain anybody suspected of “anti-national actions” can be a stark reminder of how such phrases are sometimes weaponised by governments to suppress dissent and silence critics.
Within the international context, this sequence resonates deeply, particularly as Palestinians proceed to endure the brutalities of Israel and its army. The chilling portrayal in I’m Nonetheless Right here also needs to be a wake-up name for many who fail to understand — or refuse to acknowledge — the worry and violence inflicted by regimes supported by closely armed forces that function with impunity. The sequence culminates with Eunice standing on the door, watching Rubens as he enters the automotive and simply earlier than leaving, he appears again at her with a faint smile — a hauntingly tender second, because it turns into the final time she sees the love of her life. Salles’ path, the nuanced and highly effective performances of Torres and Mello, and Adrian Teijido’s evocative cinematography deserve all reward for the emotional weight of this sequence.
I’m Nonetheless Right here carries vital relevance within the Indian context too. The plight of political prisoners like Umar Khalid, these imprisoned in reference to the Bhima Koregaon case similar to Surendra Gadling and Jyoti Jagtap, and people who stay behind bars underneath draconian legal guidelines such because the Illegal Actions (Prevention) Act (UAPA) — which is commonly used to focus on dissenting voices — highlights the movie’s relevance. Whereas the title, I’m Nonetheless Right here, might be interpreted because the collective scream of those prisoners, imploring society to recognise their plight and refusing to be erased, it additionally stands as a declaration to the authorities that regardless of the oppression, the spirit of resistance will endure, as evidenced by the lives of Prof GN Saibaba and Stan Swamy.
Even because the digital camera initially adopts a broad and all-encompassing perspective, capturing the lives of varied characters, its focus narrows sharply to Eunice after Rubens’ arrest, reflecting the heavy burden of accountability and grief that instantly falls upon her. Nonetheless, when a tabloid reporter arrives to cowl Rubens’ compelled disappearance — for which the Paiva household receives no solutions from the authorities and stays clueless about his whereabouts — Eunice is requested for a household picture. Though the reporter advises in opposition to smiling, fearing it would undermine the emotional affect of the story, Eunice instructs her kids to smile extensively, and this serves as a quiet however defiant message to the oppressive regime, declaring that Paivas refuse to present in.
In a single pivotal scene, as Eunice searches for the reality behind Rubens’ detention, she discovers that he, alongside together with his pals, had been actively supporting the underground opposition by serving to these hunted by the federal government. This revelation highlights how ladies at all times find yourself bearing the heaviest penalties of males’s actions. Whereas Rubens’ efforts have been noble and brave, his choice to exclude Eunice from his plans left her unprepared to face the aftermath, forcing her to tackle every thing alone.
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Even after studying that Rubens had been killed, Eunice receives no tangible proof of his loss of life. Undaunted, she persists in her quest for solutions, which lastly culminates within the receipt of his loss of life certificates 25 years put up his compelled disappearance — a victory achieved via her relentless dedication.
In a putting subsequent scene, Eunice, chatting with the media, is requested whether or not Brazil ought to proceed introspecting and addressing previous errors as an alternative of focusing solely on transferring ahead. She responds firmly, emphasising the significance of setting the file straight in order that justice, in some kind, might prevail. In keeping with The New York Occasions, human rights teams estimate that tons of have been forcibly disappeared and roughly 20,000 individuals have been tortured throughout Brazil’s dictatorship. Nonetheless, in contrast to Chile or Argentina, the place many perpetrators of such atrocities confronted authorized penalties, Brazil has sadly did not pursue accountability for its army’s atrocities.
In the direction of the top, we see an aged and wheelchair-bound Eunice (portrayed by the legendary Fernanda Montenegro, Fernanda Torres’ iconic mom) surrounded by her kids and their households in 2014. They collect for a household {photograph}, all smiling as soon as once more, encapsulating their resilience and power, embodying the life Rubens would have wished for them — one full of happiness and togetherness, free from exile.
Satirically, simply earlier than the screening of I’m Nonetheless Right here, which explores the devastating penalties of unchecked governmental energy, an incident in Kerala highlighted an analogous intolerance. A 28-year-old lawyer was detained by police for merely booing Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan through the IFFK 2024 inauguration in Thiruvananthapuram, illustrating how energy can blind these in authority, rendering them illiberal of dissent. Screening a movie like I’m Nonetheless Right here instantly after such an incident solely underscores the hypocrisy of the Kerala authorities, which claims to champion creative freedom whereas silencing acts of protest in opposition to its management.
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