A poignant return: ‘I’m Still Here’ by Walter Salles
A day at the beach
Walter Salles’ deeply moving film, “I’m Still Here”, marks the Brazilian director’s return to his homeland and the cinematic style that brought him acclaim with “Central Station”. The film opens where many stories set in Rio de Janeiro should: at the beach. A stray dog disrupts a volleyball game, girls use Coca-Cola as tanning lotion, and children play football while teenagers gossip about pop stars and crushes. In the sparkling water, Eunice Paiva (played by the brilliant Fernanda Torres) floats on her back, squinting against the sun. The sky is clear, but a helicopter looms overhead.
The backdrop of a dictatorship
It’s Christmastime in 1970, and Brazil is six years into a military dictatorship that would last another 15 years. For the Paiva family—Eunice, her engineer husband Rubens (Selton Mello), their five children, and their housekeeper Zeze (Pri Helena)—the regime’s presence is mostly felt through radio reports of kidnapped diplomats and occasional army convoys. Their large, airy home, filled with laughter and life, becomes a silent witness to the encroaching oppression.
A house full of memories
“I’m Still Here” is as much about the Paiva family as it is about their home. This house, where Salles himself spent time as a teenager, is a place of open doors, lively conversations about politics, music, and art. Gradually, it falls silent and fearful, emptied of guests and eventually, the family itself. After Rubens is taken away “for questioning” and never returns, and Eunice endures days in a filthy detention cell, she asks Zeze for the key to lock the driveway gate. This simple act feels like the end of an era.
A visual and auditory journey
Salles’ filmmaking is remarkable for its grace and naturalism. The film’s vintage, spongy colors, interspersed with home movies shot by the eldest daughter Veroca (Valentina Herszage) on a Super 8 camera, give it the texture of a story being remembered rather than told. The soundtrack, featuring Gilberto Gil sambas, Caetano Veloso hits, and Warren Ellis’ piano and strings score, adds a layer of melancholy to even the happiest family moments. These scenes play like memories, and memories, however joyful, are always tinged with sadness.
Resilience and quiet courage
The film’s focus is not just on the loss of Rubens, a beloved father and husband who secretly helped opponents of the regime. It is also about resilience, especially as demonstrated by Eunice. Torres’ performance as Eunice is superb; she is effortlessly elegant and resourceful, raising her children and starting anew despite her enormous grief and the authorities’ cruel denial of her husband’s fate. Her story is one of survivorship and quiet courage.
A timeless message
“I’m Still Here” is classical in form but radical in empathy. While the follow-up sections set in 1996 and 2014 may alter the emotional rhythm, they also allow us to stay with these vivid characters longer. Eunice’s campaign for the official recognition of her husband’s forced disappearance took many years to bear fruit. The 2014 epilogue offers a glimpse of Salles’ “Central Station” star and Torres’ mother, Fernanda Montenegro, in a brief role as the older Eunice.
A cautionary tale
The film ends with Eunice’s extended family gathered in an airy garden for a smiling family photograph. This turns the story into a cautionary tale for those who seek a return to repression and rule by fear. The national spirit you try to subdue will outlast you. The people you oppress will live to see you reviled by history, while those who resist will inspire music, art, and films as beautiful as “I’m Still Here”.
For more information and to watch the trailer, visit I’m Still Here.
Keywords: Walter Salles, I’m Still Here, Brazilian cinema, military dictatorship, resilience, Fernanda Torres, Selton Mello, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Warren Ellis, Central Station