I'm Still Here — Oscar for Best International Film in 2025

The film I'm Still Here (original title: Ainda Estou Aqui, 2024) is directed by Walter Salles and stars Fernanda Torres, Selton Mello, and Fernanda Montenegro. The film is based on the 2015 biographical and historical text of the same name, written by Marcelo Rubens Paiva, who is one of the characters in the film and the son of Rubens and Eunice Paiva.

The film attracted international attention, being selected for more than 50 festivals and winning 26 awards in Brazil and abroad. Among them is the award for Best Screenplay at the Venice Film Festival. The film was selected at the Goya Awards as the Best Ibero-American Film. It received six prizes from the American Gold Derby Awards website, and finally, it won the Oscar for Best International Film in 2025 (Globoplay, 2025).

Rio de Janeiro, 1971

The Paivas, a traditional middle-class family, lived in Rio de Janeiro in the early 1970s. The family consisted of Rubens, the father; Eunice, the mother; and their five children: Vera, Sílvia, Eliana, Ana Lúcia, Marcelo, and Maria Beatriz.
Rubens Paiva is a federal deputy who was impeached by the military government.
The family's lives followed a familiar rhythm until one day when federal agents invaded their home, turning their world upside down. This invasion was a brutal and unjustifiable act of violence.

The federal agents took Rubens to jail. Eunice doesn't understand what is happening. He became desperate.

Some agents started living in their home. Family members couldn't even use the landline without being overheard by an agent. These situations traumatized the entire family.
Rubens was considered a communist by the political system.

Eunice and her daughter, Eliana, were taken to jail for interrogation without justification. Eliana was only there for a day, but Eunice stayed for many. The policeman interrogating Eunice knew she played backgammon and that her daughter, Veronica, lived in London.

He also knew that Rubens helped rebels send and receive letters from their families.

While in prison, Eunice was put under severe psychological pressure to reveal information about her husband's political activities. She didn't know anything, nor did the wives of some of Rubens's friends. They, husbands, didn't tell their wives about their political activities to protect their families. A friend of the family told Eunice that many of Rubens's friends helped other political activists, but they did not engage in the armed struggle.

Eunice lost track of time. She asked a soldier how long she had been in prison. He replied that it had been five days. She began marking the days on the wall.

The soldier who took her to and from her interrogation covered his name tag with tape so the prisoners wouldn't know his name.

After many days in prison without showering or changing her clothes, she was released. At home, she took a long shower and scrubbed her body vigorously. Whether consciously or not, this shower symbolized her desire to be free from all the terrible things she had suffered during those days under the political system's rules.

Eunice was a strong woman who stood up to the military and the many hardships she faced in life, including having her husband arrested and being responsible for five children. After some time, she suspected that the regime had killed her husband.

She asked some friends for help. They comforted her, saying that Rubens would be released soon because there was no proof that he had contributed to the opponents of the system, who were generally called communists.

With the help of a lawyer, Eunice initiated a habeas corpus petition to free Rubens, but to no avail. She requested a copy of the document to read and understand it. Although she did not understand the law, she made an effort to improve her understanding in order to get her husband back or at least find out what happened to him after he went to prison.

She saw the family car at an army barracks. So she and her lawyer went to retrieve it. They were successful.

One characteristic of many middle-class Brazilian families in the 1970s was having a housekeeper. Her name was Zezé. After Rubens went to prison, the family was short on money and in debt to Zezé.

Eunice was looking for Marta because she had been told that Marta—a teacher of some of her children—had seen Rubens in the army barracks. Marta avoided giving Eunice any information because she was afraid of the military's political system. Some time later, Marta delivered an envelope to Eunice's house containing information about Rubens's death.

Rubens was dead, but there was no news about where his body was.

Eunice wasn't educated, but she tried to learn about the laws and details that would help her learn more about Rubens's disappearance. Despite this, she criticized the federal government for using legal jargon and called for freedom of expression for the Brazilian people.

She sold their properties in Rio de Janeiro and moved with her family to São Paulo, where she could receive support from her extended family.

São Paulo, 1996

Eunice studied law and became a lawyer. She worked against land grabbers. She was well-known in society and was constantly invited to give lectures.

Twenty-five years after Rubens’ disappearance, she received his death certificate. In an interview, she demanded compensation and an explanation for the government's mistakes during the military regime.

São Paulo, 2014

All of Eunice’s children were at her home. She was very old and used a wheelchair. She watched TV.

The movie does not show anything new, at least for those who know a little about Brazilian history.

However, it does present some errors; for example, the plugs that appear in the scenes are not compatible with the 1970s.

The transition from 1971 to 1996 is poorly executed; it lasts a few seconds in complete darkness.

Strength and weaknesses

In general, the lighting in the production is poor. There was no need to show defective images to give the impression that the movie is from the 1970s; it was made in 2024. Audiences deserve better lighting and images. There is often a rectangle on the right side of the screen. What is the purpose of that? The audience knows it's a movie about Brazilian history.

In my opinion, the film's only redeeming quality is that Brazilian cinema will now be better known worldwide. This benefits the Brazilian film industry and its associated professionals, including actors, producers, and technicians.

References

Salles, Walter. Ainda Estou Aqui (movie)/I’m still here. 2024.

Globoplay. Ainda Estou Aqui ganha novo pôster oficial após vitória no Oscar. 2025. Disponível em: https://gshow.globo.com/globoplay/noticia/ainda-estou-aqui-ganha-novo-poster-oficial-apos-vitoria-no-oscar.ghtml. Acesso em: 11 mar. 2025.