Walter Salles
I'm Still Here
8.2 
8.5Brazil, 1971: a country in the tightening grip of a military dictatorship. A mother is forced to reinvent herself when her family's life is shattered by an act of arbitrary violence.
- Director: Walter Salles
- Main Cast: Fernanda Montenegro, Fernanda Torres, Selton Mello
- Soundtrack: Warren Ellis
- Cinematography: Adrian Teijido
- Screenplay: Walter Salles
: 2024
Original title in Brazil is Ainda Estou Aqui.
Cinema Premiere: February 7, 2025
10 english reviews of I'm Still Here (2024)
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9 / 10
Walter Salles directs Fernanda Torres in a standout performance as a real-life matriarch in military-ruled Brazil of the 1970s
- Wendy Ide -
9 / 10
"I'm Still Here" is a gripping, profoundly touching film with a deep well of pathos.
- David Rooney -
9 / 10
The chemistry between all of the Paira family members forms the beating heart of the film, devastating the audience by reminding them how happy they used to be, but promising them that nothing can shatter their sense of spirit, because they are together.
- Emma Kiely -
8 / 10
Walter Salles’ personal and poignant vision of family life under Brazilian fascism
- Phil de Semlyen -
7.5 / 10
Grief is said to have five stages — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. But in the nightmare endured by the Paiva family there is no hope to accept what has happened to them as the government who tortured and executed the beloved head of their family deny he was ever even arrested.
- Leila Latif -
6 / 10
Salles’s imperfect, hobbled film tells us that hope springs eternal and that joy is a given and that most happy families will find a way to survive.
- Xan Brooks -
5.8 / 10
As "I'm Still Here" moseys steadily onward, Torres adds gradual shadings to better illustrate the calcification of Eunice’s resolve. The film is never better than when Salles, who delivers a moving performance of steely determination, simply gets out of the way and gives his star the space to process her grief.
- Marshall Shaffer -
5 / 10
Maybe if "I'm Still Here" was framed as Eunice’s life through the eyes of Marcelo, then most of the wide, idealizing brush strokes in this saintly portrait would prove much more permissible.
- Savina Petkova -
5 / 10
"I'm Still Here"’s affection for its subjects, though tender, is largely hagiographic.
- Cole Kronman
12 foreign reviews of I'm Still Here (2024)
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5 / 5
Translated from swedish: This is a film that has such powerful substance, with a strong political historical narrative that's woven together with the family's personal and gripping fate across multiple generations. This makes the movie feel almost like a political thriller while simultaneously being a family drama, without it feeling scattered.
- Lukas ErikssonSwedish: filmtopp.se »
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4 / 5
Translated from swedish: Powerful portrait of a woman in the shadow of dictatorship
- Anna HedlinSwedish: moviezine.se »
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4 / 5
Translated from swedish: "I'm Still Here" is a captivating love letter to democracy and the people who fight for it, no matter how bad the odds may sometimes be.
- Jan-Olov AnderssonSwedish: aftonbladet.se »
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4 / 5
Translated from swedish: Oscar-nominated Fernanda Torres delivers a fantastic performance as the real-life Eunice Paiva, a Brazilian mother of five who fought for her missing husband during the dictatorship. "I'm Still Here" is an intimate portrayal of life and death.
- Jacob LundströmSwedish: dn.se »
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4 / 5
Translated from swedish: Today's Brazilian far-right claims there was no dictatorship and has tried to boycott "I'm Still Here". Salles, who understands how memory gaps serve authoritarian regimes, has said the film could not have been made under former president Jair Bolsonaro.
- Hynek PallasSwedish: gp.se »
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4 / 5
Translated from swedish: Life-affirming about Brazil's dark past
- Emma EngströmSwedish: sverigesradio.se »
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4 / 5
Translated from swedish: Walter Salles' Oscar-winning film is a powerful reality-based story about a woman's fight against the military junta.
- Mattias OscarssonSwedish: sydsvenskan.se »
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4 / 5
Translated from swedish: "I'm Still Here" masterfully portrays a brave woman's relentless pursuit of truth in a country occupied by itself.
- Björn G StenbergSwedish: unt.se »
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4 / 5
Translated from swedish: Without a doubt one of the year's best films in terms of acting, storytelling, and emotional depth.
- Linus AndersenSwedish: cinetaste.se »
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8 / 10
Translated from swedish: For a film that deals so much with power and abuse, "I'm Still Here" contains extremely little violence, but a tremendous amount of love.
- Lars BöhlinSwedish: vk.se »
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4 / 5
Translated from swedish: "I'm Still Here" depicts the true story of a kidnapping during Brazil's military dictatorship in 1970. A deeply disturbing tale that echoes today's oppression of dissidents.
- Kristoffer ViitaSwedish: svt.se »
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Positive, no rating
Translated from swedish: At a time when the United States is losing its footing as a democratic force, perhaps Brazil's long tradition of cinema can finally reach beyond its own borders. Maybe, just maybe, the country can one day stop being associated with poverty and soccer, and instead be known for art and democracy.
- Gabriel V. RindborgSwedish: kultmagasin.se »
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Box Office
I'm Still Here has earned a total of 36 126 135 dollars from cinemas across the world (the global box office).
Other movies by Walter Salles
Paris, I Love You
2006-
⏱️ 120 min
7.2
1. Variety
Profoundly Moving Sense-Memory Portrait of a Family — and a Nation — Ruptured
- Jessica Kiang
Variety »