Amidst a bizarre and unpredictable awards season, one passionate fanbase is jumping for joy. Legendary Brazilian director Walter Salles’s latest feature, “I’m Still Here,” made a last-minute push at the coveted Best Picture lineup, barely squeezing into a contentious 10-film slate.
An adaptation of Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s 2015 memoir of the same name, the film details the harrowing arrest and disappearance of former Brazilian Congressman Rubens Paiva, played by Selton Mello. Upended with the fallout in their Rio de Janeiro home, his wife Eunice, played by Fernanda Torres, and their five children fight for justice.
Though many pundits predicted Torres’s nomination for Best Actress following her surprise Golden Globes victory in January, the film’s inclusion in the Best Picture category spawned out of thin air. Whether the Academy’s passion trickled down from Torres’s Globes speech or elsewhere, the nomination was single-handedly pioneered by the online campaigning of the Brazilian faithful.
Brazilian native Marcelo Kertész, who has lived in the United States with his daughter, UO student Ana Kertész, for 10 years, was pleasantly surprised by the film’s international recognition. “It felt like winning the World Cup,” Marcelo Kertész said.
The father-daughter duo leapt at the opportunity to experience the film together upon a Friday night premiere at Metro Cinemas in downtown Eugene. With its fresh Oscar nomination spiking global box office turnout, there wasn’t an empty seat in the house.
“This is a story that I was familiar with growing up,” Marcelo Kertész said. “It is a privilege to bring my daughter to see it.”
Though Ana Kertész was born in São Paulo, she has lived in America for most of her life. The film’s staunch roots in Brazilian history, explicitly shedding light on the corrupt military dictatorship of the 1970s, offer her and unfamiliar audiences across the globe a lens into a significant period.
“The film being brought into the world, to people who aren’t Brazilian with no background in Brazil’s history, is really interesting,” Ana Kertész said. “I was trying to catch things I didn’t fully understand. It was interesting to see how they would adapt it to make sense to the rest of the world.”
Despite the pressure of adapting such a consequential true story, Salles succeeds through delicate care for the source material.
“It was such a beautiful film,” Marcelo Kertész said. “It’s hard to tell because we’ve all heard about it for years; it must be special and well done.”
Ana’s biggest takeaway: “Seeing Brazil.” She added, “It was a gorgeous movie.”
“I’m Still Here” paints a vivid portrait of family, place and period, exacerbating the shell-shocking grief present throughout the back half of the film. Salles offers an intimate realization of a lovable, tight-knight family, immersing us in their glamorous, beachside life before stripping us dry.
Each character is devastatingly performed as their innocent zest for life is tested at the hands of corruption and loss. Torres gracefully commands the ship in a largely gentle performance. Her grief is concealed in favor of her childrens’ security, who rely on her presence for a pinch of normalcy and comfort. Her subdued nature occasionally breaks free into pure despair.
The film’s visual makeup is as tender and fragile as its heavy source material, capturing the sun-soaked environment of 1970s Rio de Janeiro and the dull stillness of tragedy. Snippets are framed as glistening memories caught on an old film camera, contributing to the authenticity of its presentation. This family’s story is real, and it feels unequivocally so.
“I’m Still Here” probably won’t win Best Picture — it might go home empty-handed — but its presence in awards conversations remains abundantly meaningful. With more eyes on Salles’s work, more moviegoers can experience a slice of Brazil and its challenging history — that kind of exposure is what makes awards shows worth it.
