Masterful political drama seen at The Light in Wisbech

Film review: I'm Still Here (15) - seen at The Light Cinema, Wisbech

Starring: Fernanda Torres, Heitor Lorega and Marcelo Rubens Mello

Director: Walter Salles Run time: Two hours, 17 minutes

I'm Still Here is the latest film by Brazilian director Walter Salles. Based on the real-life story of Maria Pavia, it focuses on her middle-class family, whose patriarch, Rubens Pavia, used to be involved in the Brazilian Labour Party.

Starting on the sunny beaches of Rio, it initially portrays a happy family living an idyllic life, playing volleyball and football in the streets, tracked by songs from the 70s, the era in which the movie was set.

It truly feels like we live through the eyes of the characters, watching them as they go through their daily routine until
we slowly build into an oppressive atmosphere as the family starts receiving phone calls and visits from the government under Brazil's dictatorship.

The film then escalates into more stifling tones and the cinematography also progresses, adding tighter camera angles mixed with film footage from the characters in the movie, immersing the viewer into their perspective.

The actors are excellent, especially lead actress Fernanda Torres, who manages to display a large range of emotions from joyous at the start of the movie, to hopeless and then accepting.

Overall Salles portrays the Paiva family's life in such a way that the audience falls in love and roots for them, feeling every gut punch thrown against them, resulting in a masterful political drama shown through the perspective of an uninvolved family.

Rating 9/10

By Alfie Ransome