I’m Still Here
I’m Still Here is the true story of Eunice Paiva’s life after the disappearance of her husband in 1970s Brazil. It’s well directed, and extremely well acted, and all the accolades for Fernanda Torres make perfect sense, but all the actors were fantastic. While not as gratingly sad as the international film nominees can often be, it’s still plenty sad, and as will always be the case, it makes for a harder watch for me. Doesn’t make it any less important, and there’s a lot to appreciate in this film. The pre-sad parts of this movie are particularly charming, showing the liveliness and cohesion of Brazilian family. A good watch, and having now seen all but the Girl with the Needle, this is probably the 2nd best International behind Flow for this year’s nominees.
-Z
I really enjoyed the true story of this film. Yes, it was hard to watch at times, but it all felt so realistic. What stood out the most to me was Fernanda Torres’ ability to portray a mother shielding her children from her grief, confusion, and anger by suppressing emotion and choosing to maintain their stability over her own. That’s some real motherly strength.
-E
“Everybody's in danger, Eunice.” -Martha
A international film that I realized was international about 5 minutes before the film started. The thing I am learning as I become more and more involved in watching movies in a more serious sense, that means buckle up. Last year we watched what I think was the most jaw dropping, mood killing, gut wrenching, depressing, yet great movie, Io Capitano, which has become an unofficial scale of how dark a movie is. This did not get there, but all three of us agreed it had the vibes. This movie is not light hearted, but it does have some great performances. Is it a must watch, not for me, but I do think it was an objectively good film.
-J
