I’m Still Here: This movie is based on real events. It is in Portugese with English subtitles. Set in 1970 in Rio De Janeiro Brasil, Eunice and Rubens Paiva have five children (ages 17yo or so to much younger). Golden Globe Winner and Oscar nominated Fernanda Torres plays Eunice. The family lives well with a servant, a car and beach front property on the famous Leblon Beach. They are also developing another property nearby. Rubens was formerly a minister in the previous government. He had gone into exile after that government was deposed. A new military dictatorship has taken power and they are quickly addressing a burgeoning rebellion/public protest against this government. Early on we see the Paiva’s eldest daughter and her “hippie” friends stopped in their car at a road block with military aggressively checking for “terrorists” who have kidnapped a foreign ambassador.
Things happen and both Rubens and Eunice are separately taken away from their home and family for interrogation. It seems Rubens has, along with some of his friends, been looking to fan the flames of discontent. It has been noticed.
The family is close. They joke and play and are a tight group, even with eldest daughter deciding to head to London UK just before Mom and Dad were questioned. Fernanda Torres shows in spectacular fashion her range of emotions in dealing with the unexpected; including an illegal search and seizure within her family. Torres within her face shows the pain and anguish of addressing her immediate uncertainty for herself but also to calm her children. It’s a balance of being real for them while sheltering them from a situation that one doesn’t control and are uncertain of the outcome. Parents do this all of the time, thinking about their children first rather than their own safety. Kids need to feel safe. The parent also needs to keep older children from saying too much in front of the little ones. Torres encapsulates all this so well. This resilient woman isn’t bowing down to the new people in power. She pivots and dedicates herself in ways that are impressive, reflecting a desire to understand, educate and overcome. She decides personally and professionally on a new direction that can support her family but also reflect her desire to show the horrible actions of a regime not that very long ago. Absolute power it seems can corrupt absolutely especially for those looking to be dictators and rule with an iron fist.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It has just been released in Toronto. It surprises me that a movie without the coverage still garners the nominations and wins that it has including Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actress and Best International Film (a first ever for a Brazilian film). This is worth your time and seeking out.
Yellowstone: Netflix just released the full four seasons of Yellowstone in the last few weeks. This is a series that I have heard from many people that it is worth watching. Sadly it was on Amazon, and I don’t carry that service. I have seen a couple episodes on airplanes every now and then but it has never stuck with me, because it was so limited. I am already five episodes into season 1, and I have enjoyed it. This seems in many ways to be Succession on a ranch, with Kevin Costner as the patriarch, a powerful man of influence and land owner. He has a wide ranging farm (larger than Rhode Island within the State of Montana). Created by Taylor Sheridan it has been the source of a number of spin offs.
There is much intrigue at the ranch. There is a competing real estate development, there are challenges with his various children, as well as the ranch hands, along with political intrigue. This is well written, well shot with lovely scenery. It is acted well, with complex characters, especially Costner and his children.
I will continue to watch this, although I am told that the last season without Costner is not as good. But one must start somewhere and this has caught my attention enough to merit more time.
Mondays With Robbie 