We are thrilled to end the season with a screening of the Academy Award-winning drama, I’m Still Here on Thursday May 8, at the Paradise Cinemas.
For those of you familiar with Walter Salles’s work (Central Station, The Motorcycle Diaries) you might be aware he is considered one of the greatest Brazilian directors of all time.
I’m Still Here ranks among one of his best works, garnering multiple Academy Award nominations this year, including Best Motion Picture, Best International Feature and Best Actress. It took home the prize for Best International Feature.
The film narrative begins in Rio de Janeiro, in 1971. Eunice Paiva (Fernanda Torres) and her husband Rubens (Selton Mello) both enjoy a flourishing, bustling upper middle-class lives in a large beachside house. They have five boisterous kids (four girls and one boy) ranging in age from teenager to middle schooler, and it’s a busy fulfilling life - full of house parties, play, intellectual discussion, art and music.
Everything seems close to ideal, except telling details occasionally seep into the foreground - a military helicopter flying overhead, army convoys rumbling down the road, or a television in the background dispatching breaking news about an ambassador being kidnapped, alerting us to the reality that, in fact, Brazil is in its seventh year of an oppressive military dictatorship that was to last until 1985.
The children largely remain oblivious, but the political climate is intensifying. We have learned that Ruben, currently employed as a civil engineer, was previously a left-wing congressman before the government was overthrown. When plain clothes agents arrive at the Paiva household to serve him a deposition, he changes into a suit, and leaves quietly. The agents will not tell Eunice when he might return.
This is when the story truly begins, but it’s not the typical cliched political thriller you might be anticipating. Rather it’s a story about personal transformation, perseverance, hope, and the power of memory. Although the narrative is framed by Ruben’s absence, it’s told through the lens of Eunice Paiva, who is left to fend for her family, protect her children, and fight for answers and accountability. Like any excellent film, the less you know going into the theatre, the better, so we won’t give away too many plot points here.
This is a tale that ultimately spans four decades, and is told in three acts – the first in 1970s Rio, then in the 1990s in Sau Paulo, and later again in 2014 when Eunice has aged into her 90s. When the film begins, Eunice seems fulfilled by heading a busy household and confined to the domestic sphere, but by the end of the film, Eunice has transformed. She goes back to school at the age of 48 to earn a law degree, becomes a lauded human rights activist, fights for accountability from the government for the atrocities committed during the dictatorship, and takes up the cause of Indigenous rights. Gripping and immersive, the film is the story of how she accomplishes this.
Based on a true story, the film’s script was derived from a memoir of the same name by the Paivas' only son, Marcello Paiva, which was published in 2015. Director Walter Salles expertly blurs the line between documentary and dramatization, bringing a tremendous depth of feeling to the story. In real-life, Salles grew up next to the Paivas and was a frequent visitor to their house as a teenager.
I’m Still Here has resonated deeply with audiences in Brazil, who are only a couple of generations removed from the events depicted, and it’s become the highest grossing movie in Brazil since the pandemic. The film is also a gorgeous tribute to the power of memory and keeping it alive – filmed in parts in Super 8 film, and poetically interwoven with grainy photographs – at times the film takes on the texture of a glowing, gauzy, memory. And of course, Torres is utterly remarkable here, as is the rest of the ensemble cast.
She was not only nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards this year for her performance as Eunice, but also for Best Actress at the Golden Globes. Despite competing against better known Hollywood A-Listers like Angelina Jolie and Nicole Kidman for the prize, she won, and deservedly so. Her performance is revelation - masterful, poignant, subtle, dignified, and full of magnetic appeal. At every crossroads, Salles chooses to highlight the humanity of this story, and not the brutality of the regime, making it a deeply hopeful viewing experience. As Salles himself has said, “our film is only political because it is about the human spirit” (Quoted from the New Statesmen, 2025).
If you need further assurances that this is a film deserves a big screen viewing, consider the opinion of Richard Roeper, film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times: “[t]his is one of the best performances of the decade so far in one of the best movies of the decade so far…you owe it to yourself to see this movie…It’s one of the best films I’ve ever seen about the power of family” (2025). Hope to see you there! I’m Still Here is rated PG. Certified fresh, it’s got a 97 per cent Tomatometer (critic) score, and a 97 per cent Popcornmeter (audience) score on Rotten Tomatoes. General admission tickets are on sale now at The Open Book. Remaining tickets will be sold in the cinema lobby prior to the screening. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the show starts at 7 p.m.
