ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
The Oscars are this Sunday, and one movie up for several top awards is getting lots of buzz in Brazil. It's called "I'm Still Here" and chronicles the true story of a family upended by the South American country's two decades under dictatorship. As NPR's Carrie Kahn reports, the film is breaking box office records in Brazil and igniting scrutiny, both for its dark past and turbulent present.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "I'M STILL HERE")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character, speaking Portuguese).
CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: The devastation awaiting Rubens Paiva hits viewers hard in this scene early in the movie, as armed men saunter into the family's idyllic middle-class home in Rio de Janeiro.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "I'M STILL HERE")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character, speaking Portuguese).
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character, speaking Portuguese).
KAHN: The men take Paiva away and he's never seen again. His wife, Eunice, played by Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres, is a stunning, stoic portrayal of the mother of five and her lifelong pursuit for justice. Its three Oscar nominations - best picture, best international film and Torres' nod for best actress - have helped drive record sales at home. At this packed Rio theater, Carolina Ferrari, a 27-year-old advertising exec, says she loved it.
CAROLINA FERRARI: When we have a movie that becomes a success, that is nominated for an Oscar, and people are getting to know this histories, it is the best picture for us.
KAHN: That history is touching Brazilians and sparking debate. More than 400 people were killed and thousands tortured during the dictatorship that lasted from 1964 to 1985. Even after the return of democracy, no one in the military was ever jailed, unlike in other Latin American dictatorship, says Octavio Amorim Neto, a political scientist at Rio's FGV Foundation.
OCTAVIO AMORIM NETO: Our transition was very conservative, controlled by the military, and the main goal was to avoid a scenario like the one in Argentina. The military in Argentina were heavily punished. This never happened in Brazil.
KAHN: And, Amorim says, while Brazil's dictatorship was less violent, the military was able to emerge with power and prestige, he says, even reentering politics, as it did most recently during the far-right government of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who's now facing charges of leading a coup in 2022.
AMORIM NETO: That's why people have been so sensitive to this movie - not only because of the sad memories of the military regime, but also because of the sad memories of the recent Bolsonaro government.
KAHN: The director of "I'm Still Here" said Bolsonaro's rule motivated him to start the project, which took more than seven years to finish. But given how deeply divided the country is these days, it's unclear whether many Brazilian conservatives are moved by the film.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
KAHN: At a school ceremony on a base in Rio, retired Colonel Marcelo Souza was full of pride watching his 12-year-old daughter, who he says is learning important family values including discipline and respect. When asked about the movie, he says he won't see it. He knows who's backing it.
MARCELO SOUZA: (Speaking Portuguese).
KAHN: "The left in Brazil want to rewrite history," he says. Many in the left are demanding accountability these days. They want death certificates of those killed by the state to be reissued stating that, which is what Eunice Paiva achieved in her husband's case. They also want the military dictatorship's amnesty revoked. And in the case of Rubens Paiva, they want those officers still living that were charged in his death to be put on trial.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in Portuguese).
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Chanting in Portuguese).
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in Portuguese).
KAHN: This week, dozens of protesters invoking the movie in their chants gathered outside the Rio home of one of those men. Moviegoer 82-year-old Zande Alli says it was hard to watch and remember all the pain of the dictatorship. But everyone was telling her the film deserves the Oscar.
ZANDE ALLI: (Speaking Portuguese).
KAHN: She says she came to decide for herself. Her opinion - it already won. Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Rio de Janeiro.
(SOUNDBITE OF KEHLANI SONG, "BETTER NOT") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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