I’m still Here is up for three nominations: best film, best foreign film and best actress.
The movie is a lot like The Brutalist in its epic scope, and I felt more concern for the characters for its concentrated attention on the family unit.
I also felt more because it is a true story and based on a book (Marcelo Rubens Paiva), both unbeknownst to me going in, ignorance of which I am not ashamed of since being surprised in a movie is part of the wonder.
So while I don’t think it should win two out of three of the awards, I would feel fine about I’m Still Here winning over Emilia Perez, for the exact same reasons I think it is better than The Brutalist. I’m Still here had a focus and seriousness of purpose that Emilia Perez lost in the third act.
I like the direction of this film (by two time Bafta winner Walter Salles) and was able to appreciate it through the technique of showing old family movies. The passage of time didn’t seem tedious until the end, but at the same time, I still teared up at the end in seeing the photos of the real family who suffered under this tyranny.
