Critics reviews

It’s impossible not to be moved to tears by "I’m Still Here," an emotional powerhouse which finds its bruised heart in the understated, overwhelming performance by Torres, which represents acting at its finest, the kind of portrayal that awards were created to reward.

It is immersive and unhurried, and quietly devastating, taking viewers into the origin of a void left in a wife and a mother.

“I’m Still Here” does not present as a simple polemic about a historical and political situation, and that’s the secret to its global appeal. It’s also a moving portrait of how politics disrupts and reshapes the domestic sphere, and how solidarity, community and love are the only viable path toward living in tragedy.

Heartrending yet never maudlin, I’m Still Here is a humanist drama that, in shining a light on insidious injustice, becomes a balm to warn and warm its audiences in equal measure.

The film is just as cathartic as it is heartbreaking, serving as the rare historical drama that manages to be both infuriating and inspiring at the same time. Cynics may have feared that Salles had lost his way after “On the Road” debuted to a more mixed response in 2012, but “I’m Still Here” confirms that he is still at the height of his talents.

[I]t tells a very sensitive story in a way that is informative and respectful: it’s never manipulative, it’s not indulgent, it’s actually rare to see a close-up in the movie, as the camera keeps at a dignified and respectful distance, because the focus is on the story, not on the emotion. The emotion flows naturally through the delicate direction given by Salles. It’s the way every family would love their story to be told.

Suffering cannot be measured, neither familial nor national, but on this occasion Salles has somehow failed to find the right cinematic framework for this biopic storytelling. The film feels uncalibrated, but not in the free-flowing, depth-exploring, liberated kind of way.

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.

Classical in form but radical in empathy, “I’m Still Here” arguably does not need the follow-up sections — one set in 1996 and the other in 2014 — that somewhat alter the emotional rhythm. But on the other hand, these characters are so vivid that we don’t want to leave them either...

While it could use a less generic international title that’s not also a well-known Stephen Sondheim song, I’m Still Here is a gripping, profoundly touching film with a deep well of pathos. It’s one of Salles’ best.

Walter Salles’ superb factually-based film – he was a real-life friend of the Paiva family as a teenager – is an an engrossing, affecting tribute to a formidable woman and her family.

Yet there is still a sense of optimism as the film, in classic biopic style, shows a series of photographs of the real figures before its end credits which solidifies that this is a work about unspeakable cruelty but also a legacy of love.