Resilient matriarchs have never failed to inspire audiences. From Jane Darwell’s Ma Joad in the 1940 screen version of John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” to Brie Larson’s otherwise unnamed Ma in the poignant 2015 drama “Room,” viewers have cheered for the triumph of maternal love, especially against long odds.
So it is with “I’m Still Here” (Sony Pictures Classics), an adaptation of Marcelo Paiva’s 2015 memoir recounting how his family survived the worst years of Brazil’s military junta in the 1970s. As director Walter Salles and screenwriters Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega recreate Paiva’s childhood, they focus on the indomitable figure of his mother, Eunice (Fernanda Torres).
She succeeds in keeping her son and four daughters protected after her husband Rubens (Selton Mello), a former politician turned architect, is taken away “for questioning,” never to return. Additionally, Eunice herself is detained in a filthy prison while being interrogated about resistance activities in which she had no involvement.
Without delving into cheap exploitation, Salles and his collaborators deftly mingle the horror of abductions and murders with nostalgic memories of a large and loving clan. Along the way, two images linger with a quiet intensity.
First, after Eunice’s imprisonment in claustrophobic terror, she takes a long shower notable for its intensity. She furiously scrubs off the grime of the prison and does not stop until she’s convinced that she has purified herself from evil.
Later, the family is posing for a group photograph for an article about Rubens’ disappearance. The editor supervising the shoot asks them to look sad. Eunice, with a laugh, refuses. “They want us to look sad,” she tells her kids. As one, their smiles become broader.
The story is a testament to the quiet power of indestructible human dignity. Thus Eunice makes courageous plans for a secure future, despite the fact these will necessitate sacrificing the Paivas’ dream of building a new home.
Although the military dictatorship lasted until 1985, Eunice and her youngsters thrived in defiance of it, nor did she ever stop yearning for eventual justice. Salles’ depiction of all this is undoubtedly idealized in many places. Yet his picture’s insistence on finding humanity, joy and tenderness amidst iniquity and oppression makes it an uplifting experience.
In Portuguese with subtitles. The film contains references to torture, brief upper female nudity as well as fleeting profanities and crude language. The OSV News classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 – parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
