May 14, 2025 • 39 mins
We return to international cinema with 2024's Oscar winner for Best International Film, "I'm Still Here," a powerful true story about Brazil's military dictatorship and one family's devastating experience.
• Based on the true story of Eunice Paiva, whose husband disappeared during Brazil's military dictatorship in 1971
• Features an extraordinary performance from Fernanda Torres that captures the quiet strength of a mother protecting her children while seeking answers
• Set against the backdrop of Rio's beaches, the film contrasts the family's idyllic lifestyle with the ever-present military threat
• Director Walter Salles uses authentic period filmmaking techniques including Super 8 footage to create an immersive historical experience
• Portrays the difficult reality of living under authoritarian rule with subtle tension and emotional restraint
• Shows how Eunice transformed her personal tragedy into purpose by becoming a lawyer and human rights advocate
• Received universal critical acclaim with a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from both critics and audiences
Letterbox'd Synopsis: In 1971, military dictatorship in Brazil reaches its height. The Paiva family — Rubens, Eunice, and their five children — live in a beachside house in Rio, open to all their friends. One day, Rubens is taken for questioning and does not return.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to your go-to source for entertainment.
Wait for it.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Gaming.
Wait for it Anime PLUS ULTRA.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Mr Eric Almighty and Phil the Filipino.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Yeah, they've got you covered, and all you gotta do
is wait for it.
This is the Wait For it Podcast.
Hey, everyone, welcome back tothe Wait For it Podcast.
(00:37):
I'm your co-host, phil Barrera,aka Phil the Filipino.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
And I'm your other co-host, mr Eric Almighty, and
for this edition ofInternational Feature, we are
going back to last year to talkabout the best international
film and the one that won anOscar in 2024.
And that movie is.
I'm Still here.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
And thank goodness it won that award.
If you do not remember thechaos that was the Emilia Perez
debacle, if you want to hear ourthoughts on that film, you can
go back into the podcast andlisten to that one.
But we are going to be talkingabout a much better film here
today.
Like you said, eric, with2024's I'm Still here, directed
by Walter Salas.
(01:20):
I should have looked that upahead of time, but here we are,
we're recording and it's it'shappening, as I should have
looked that up ahead of time,but here we are, we're recording
and it's happening.
But yeah, eric, obviously very,very heavy subject matter when
it comes to I'm Still here and Iactually I went into it
relatively blind.
I knew that it was taking on avery, very serious subject as
well as a true story, but didn'treally know, like, the true
(01:42):
depth or the backstory of whatwent into it until I actually
sat down and started watching itand also doing a little bit of
research.
So we're going to talk aboutthat here today.
If you want to know where youcan find the rest of our content
, as well as follow us on socialmedia and get some additional
perks perhaps, then make sureyou stick around to the very end
of the episode and we will goover all of that, but let's get
(02:03):
into it here, eric, the synopsisof the film.
In 1971, military dictatorshipin Brazil reaches its height.
The Paiva family Rubens, euniceand their five children live in
a beachside house in Rio, opento all their friends.
One day, rubens is taken forquestioning and does not return.
So, once again, this is basedoff of a true story of Eunice
(02:27):
Paiva and played by we'll starthere just the absolute force
that is Fernanda Torres.
She came away with quite a fewawards and a ton of recognition
for this performance and I justwant to start right there
because she is outstanding inthis and a lot of dramatic roles
, whether it be fiction ornonfiction.
(02:50):
A lot of people find value inthose roles, I think for the
very loud dramatic moments whereyou know there's a lot of.
You can see a lot of pain andsuffering, but also hear a lot
of pain and suffering withinthose characters, and I think
(03:10):
what makes Eunice, obviouslybeing a in real life, a
powerhouse of her own, whatmakes this performance so
memorable, is her suffering insilence, but also her taking
action in silence, and I wasreally happy that we finally got
to see this performance fromFernanda Torres 100%.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
That's really the reason, phil, when you brought
this up, that I was eveninterested in seeing it because
I had seen a couple of clipshere and there and I was like
man, she's, she's good, she'sgood.
I also wanted to know did ZoeSaldana steal an award from her
Spoiler alert?
She did.
She did as much as as we loveher as an actress.
Uh, not in that movie, not inthat movie, but I didn't know
(03:54):
anything about this movie, phil,going into it.
As far as the topic, I couldkind of guess, based off the
trailer, you know what we weredealing with.
But, again, understanding thatthis was like a true story and
the real backstory behind it,it's all driven through Fernando
Torres's performance, and Imean just a powerhouse, absolute
(04:16):
powerhouse.
That is one of my favoriteperformances of a film that I
saw last year and is probablygoing to be one of our biggest
talking points.
In the spoiler free section,like this movie did come out
last year, we'll probably openup a spoiler spot at the end.
Although, phil, this movie Idon't want to say it's
(04:36):
straightforward, but I mean itkind of is Once you hear that
synopsis, you kind of have anidea of where this is going.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Yeah, it's also, you know, a true story.
So if you want, you can GoogleEunice Paiva and figure out what
happens and how we got here.
In this film, I will say one ofthe things that I really,
really enjoyed is how much timethey spent just kind of getting
to know this family and in thebeginning, again knowing like a
(05:09):
little bit about what this wasabout, I was kind of like
confused as to where is this alltie in?
What is going to be the tippingpoint of this film, where we
get into what the actual issueis, and once that did happen, I
had a better understanding of oh, that's why we spent so much
time getting to know these kids,getting to know, getting to
(05:31):
spend so much time with theirrelationships and the complexity
of all of them and how thesetwo parents, you know, have done
everything for their childrento give them this wonderful life
.
They live in this beautiful homeright on the beach and it just
seems like everything is sogreat and but it's always right
underneath the surface.
You know they're.
They're at the beach and like amilitary convoy drives by,
(05:52):
right, you know, in the verybeginning of the movie she's
driving around with her friendsand then they get stopped at a,
at a checkpoint right.
So amongst the beauty of thesetting that is rio, um, then
that threat is always so present.
So the way that this is becausethey could have really just
kind of dove into the whole cruxof the movie in terms of where
(06:15):
this all takes a turn.
They could have done thatreally right away, because it is
a historical film and becauseall of this actually happened.
But getting to know the Paivafamily was a big highlight for
me.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Yeah, I would agree with that.
And then I want to go to yourpoint about the tension in the
film and some of the things theydid to build that tension.
I thought it was extremelysuccessful, especially in that
first half of the film.
So the first act.
Going into the second act, Ithought that tension building is
what kept this to be.
You, you know, this kept itfrom being disinteresting and it
(06:48):
made me invested in seeing whatwas going to happen with this
family.
That you are kind of growingand maybe not an attachment to
per se, but you are starting toreally appreciate and I really
liked that about this movie.
I also really enjoyed thecinematography here.
You know this.
This doesn't look like a moviethat was filmed in 2024.
(07:10):
That's kind of the aestheticthey're going for.
You know they do the recorderfootage here and there.
Uh, they, they risk using thatmaybe one too many times for my
liking, but those did help.
Add to the element of this ismore of a grounded filmmaking
and the fact that this is aBrazilian film and to my
understanding, they haven'tgotten much love any time
(07:32):
recently.
So getting an Oscar nominationwas huge, let alone a win for
Best International Film.
I like that, we got to add thistype of a movie to our catalog
for this particular series.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Yep, and you're alluding to the Super 8 footage
that is used in the film.
I did like that Again.
It kind of gives you anintimacy with the family and
kind of gets you to see thingsthrough their eyes.
But, yeah, really solidperformances all around as well,
from the really kind of tryingto understand, like probably,
how terrified those kids were.
(08:08):
You know, once again, they live.
I don't want to say it was atotally privileged lifestyle,
but, you know, compared to justknowing what we know, which is
very little about brazil andkind of the economics down there
, seem to live a pretty perfectlife in terms of like what you
want, like you, they walk acrossthe street to the beach, to the
.
A pretty perfect life in termsof like what you want, like
(08:29):
you're, they walk across thestreet to the beach, to the, to
the ocean.
That's a nightmare for you andI, but for this family who loves
the beach, you know, just a anidyllic way to probably grow up,
uh, you know, especially inthat time, um, and you know, and
for someone who, as far asRubens Paiva, you know, learning
more about his story andlearning that he just cared so
(08:50):
much that he put himself at risk, is something that is just
really, really fascinating and,like you said, eric, really
happy that this is a film thatwe have now been able to add to
our library.
For not to compare and contrast, because obviously they're
totally different to our library.
For not to compare and contrastbecause obviously they're
totally different, but likefeeling totally different after
watching this, as compared totaxi driver, which is another
(09:10):
film I think years from now I'mstill here, will probably live
in, you know, in terms of the,the cinematography and the film
crowd they'll probably talkabout I'm still here, you know,
hopefully in 20 years, the sameway that they.
We now talk about a lot of themtalk about taxi driver, uh,
where we just kind of felt likekind of icky after taxi driver,
right, and coming away from this.
Yes, it is still a devastatingstory, but knowing that this,
(09:33):
like this badass woman was justlike I'm gonna go back to school
and I'm gonna fix this and it'sgonna take me some time, but
like knowing more about her andand the story is, uh, you know,
I'm like just to echo againreally happy that we have now
know about it.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
For sure, and I mean the fact that Taxi Driver was
the last episode that we didbefore this one.
You know it's fresh on ourminds, which is why it's coming
up here.
A much different film and amuch different reception, I
think, for both of us, butespecially me, when it comes to.
I'm still here and you know thething about this movie though
it's not perfect and I thinkwe'll transition into maybe some
(10:12):
criticisms but I think thething that I really took away
from this was just how muchbetter it was than Amelia Perez,
like just so, so much better.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
And you know what?
I'm still here Needed some rapsome rap penis and vagina
wrapping.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Yeah, it's rough, it's rough.
It's rough to see a film likethis Get as much recognition as
it could for being theinternational film that came out
last year.
That wasn't Amelia Perez, andthat really pisses me off a
little bit because, like AmeliaPerez took the news cycle, I
feel like this film deservedthat attention that Amelia Perez
(10:57):
got, and it just really upsetsme that there are people in the
world that actually thought thatmovie was better than this one.
So yeah, I am ready to fill totalk personally about a couple
of gripes that I had with thefilm.
They're very, very specificthings that I think may be
better explained in the spoilersection, but I will at least
(11:19):
bring them up high level.
Did you have anything else froma positive standpoint that you
wanted to touch on?
Again, we could go back andtalk maybe another 15 minutes
about Fernanda Torres.
So if I was to say anythingelse is just to go back to that
point.
She is amazing, everybody'samazing.
It feels like a real family.
The performances are great.
(11:40):
I can't quite put what she didor what the direction was for
her character to come off thescreen in that way, but it was,
it was powerful, it really was.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
It makes you.
It just you come away from itwanting to watch more of her and
learn more about her, and youknow, even in some of the
interviews that I watch, likeshe just commands your attention
, and it doesn't surprise methat that translates off the
screen as much as it does on thescreen.
So, yeah, she is just sofantastic to go back to.
(12:13):
Unfortunately, to bring upAmelia Perez, remember there is
a chance that some voters didn'teven watch this, which makes
should make you even angrier.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Yes, it does so they watched one international film
and voted on that category, andit's like amelia perez exactly
so it was great.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Oh, I like that.
Uh, I like that song.
They're like doing a littledance like selena gomez, like
they're like.
So that should make you evenangrier the fact that they had
to implement a rule that, ifthey find out you haven't
watched all the oscar films, youcan't vote just now.
Like how is that just now?
Because we have a podcast wherewe, with a smaller, much
smaller audience than theoscars- and we're like, and
(12:54):
we're like we're not gonna talkabout it if we haven't seen it.
Yeah, imagine we did this sixmonths ago.
And we're like, yeah, I don'tknow, amelia perez is probably
better.
How much, how much music is in?
I'm still here I don't.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
I didn't see any.
I didn't see them singing inthe trailer yeah yeah, that
that's uh, that's a tough time.
I don't want to be too nitpicky,but there are a couple things
with this movie that I thinkdrag it down from being great
Like I really enjoyed it.
I really really enjoyed it.
And these might be morenitpicky things.
(13:32):
I'm going to start with the onethat maybe bothered me the most
, that I kind of hold againstthis movie, and it's the runtime
.
The movie's two hours and 14minutes and on the surface that
doesn't sound like a long time,phil.
I don't sound like a long time.
Phil, I don't know how you feltthis movie drags in that third
act.
Now, some things happen in thatthird act.
(13:56):
We'll talk about that in thespoiler section, maybe a little
bit more as far as the time thattakes, that all of that takes
place.
But I just think, phil, thismovie was it could have been
condensed to maybe an hour 45.
That's like 30 minutes ofruntime, which is kind of that
third act.
That third act could have been amontage, in my opinion.
So I'm curious what you thoughtabout it, because once we take
(14:18):
that turn and there is a littlebit of a time jump situation, I
don't know, I just felt muchmore disinterested in it and
that's probably my biggest gripewith the film that that third
act is not nearly as strong asthe first two when it comes to
the tension building and all ofthat.
There's not also much of aresolve, and I understand that's
the story, but I don't know.
(14:39):
Just from a film perspective itleft me feeling a little
disappointed at the end as faras enjoying the journey but not
necessarily the destination.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
So I think I think you could probably keep the film
the same length and maybe giveus more in terms of how did
school go for her?
How did all of this process gowith trying to?
You know, once democracy wasreinstated in Brazil, how much?
Why did it take her 25 years toget this death certificate?
(15:11):
You know, and that part of thefilm and then also seeing the
picture, the actual picture ofEunice Paiva with the death
certificate is so powerful and Ithink you know, getting to see,
maybe the kids grew up a littlebit like remember, like there
was like a little bit ofemotional whiplash because the
son has had an accident and wedon't know anything about that.
(15:32):
You know, we know that he haswritten a book about it and he's
talked about this story, but Iwas like, did I miss something?
Like what happened?
So I think maybe keep the storyat the same length, but like I
would have liked to know howdifferent their life was once
they had to leave Rio and youknow what went into that
decision.
Like how difficult was it for amother of five to go to school
(15:52):
full-time, to become this lawyerand get all this done?
I would have liked to know alittle bit more about that, as
opposed to the massive two timejumps we get.
So again, it's 25 years, is along time.
They're getting the deathcertificate and then again we
see the part at the end.
I did like the end in terms ofseeing all the family together.
I think that, but I think itwill work even better if we know
(16:14):
, because there's only two kidsin the jump ahead.
So, like what's everybody elseup to, I'd have also liked to
know that.
So maybe, even if it is alittle bit shorter, if you did
cut 10, 15 minutes, but justseeing more of their life after
they had left their home, whichI can only imagine, was
incredibly difficult, likethere's a really good scene in
that, in that act, where they'retalking about when did they
(16:37):
bury their father, like in theirhead, and I really, really like
that discussion between the twoof them, because I can't even
imagine what type of just howthat would feel in terms of
dealing with someone who'smissing, and you can't ever
really put them to restphysically, so you have to do it
in their mind.
So I think, expanding upon that, maybe you would have felt a
(16:58):
little bit differently.
What do you think?
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Yeah, I get where you're coming from.
This is going to sound bad.
I don't mean it in a negativeway, but like I kind of
understand why they dramatizestories like this sure like from
from a maybe from anentertainment value of like
consuming the media, the mediumor the media that's being
presented.
Because, like you're saying, youcouldn't imagine it.
(17:21):
And like, in my head I'm like,well, they could have shown us
that, like they could have shownus and again, I think a lot of
this I'm gonna have to elaboratein the spoiler section but what
happened during that time jump?
You're focused on her, like asfar as the schooling and all
that, and I'm thinking like,well, there had to have been
some conversations and I thinkthere would have been some real
(17:42):
drama in those conversations,some heart-wrenching drama that
you really could have displayedwith these characters, and we
just didn't get that.
So I'll leave a lot of my likedirect thoughts on it for the
spoiler portion, which, again, Ican't imagine is going to be
long.
But you know, I still recommendthat you you check out this
film to make your own opinion.
(18:03):
And, phil, uh, I guess I'llkind of transition it over to
you.
Were there any nitpicky or bigitems that you wanted to address
?
As far as the criticisms orthings that could have gone
better, there there weren'treally too many that I could
come away with.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
now, you know, in my score I didn't give this like a
perfect score or anything likethat, but yeah, I think really I
kind of just addressed it likejust wanting to know a little
bit more and also spending alittle bit more time with the
kids.
Like leaving that home andessentially I think in their
minds like admitting defeat kindof, was probably really really
difficult and I can only imaginethat you know tensions were
(18:40):
already high in a home wherethey had quite a bit of space
and quite a bit of you know roomto move around and they seem to
have moved into an even morecramped position, sounded like
they were moving in with liketheir grandparents and how much
of a strain with that to put ontheir relationships where it was
already everybody was alreadyvery emotionally just worn out
and drained.
(19:00):
And you know, learning a littlebit more maybe as well about
about Rubens and how he washelping out the you know this
resistance like learning alittle bit more about that.
I will just to counter myselfmy own argument.
I do think that having it be asecret from also the audience is
a good choice, but at the sametime, I would like to know more
(19:22):
about what he was doing just onthe you know, outside of the
scope of what we saw.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
Yeah, that's totally fair and I think there's more to
be had in the spoiler part ofthat conversation.
So I think transitioning hereto the reception of this film,
our scores and then, you know,talking about spoilers, will be
a good way to kind of put alittle bow on this episode.
But I think we're probablyready to have that dialogue.
So if you have not seen thefilm after our scores, we'll
(19:51):
give you that reminder.
But let's get into that, Phil,because I am curious where we
both landed.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Yeah, let's see where this sits here Now.
Unsurprisingly, very, very highscores across the board Rotten
Tomatoes 97% tomato meter scoreand a 97% popcorn meter score.
Percent tomato meter score anda 97 percent popcorn meter score
.
So one of those instances wherecritics and audiences agree.
Over on IMDb, it sits at aeight point three out of 10.
(20:20):
And then over on Letterboxd itis at a four point three.
So, and a majority of thoseEric over 50 percent, 59 percent
of those are five out of fives.
And when you look at the reviews, a lot of those Eric over 50%,
59% of those are five out offives.
And when you look at thereviews, a lot of them are in
Portuguese.
So I'm sure this resonates somuch more with those people and
who have ancestors right thatcould still be alive from this
(20:41):
time, which is totally insane tothink about.
So a lot of five out of tens orfive out of fives.
I gave this a four out of fivefor myself.
It is certainly one of thebetter films that we have
watched and also one of the bestfilms from 2024.
I don't know if you added thisto your 2024 list, eric.
I did so if you want to discusswhere that landed for us.
But yeah, four out of five forme and just a movie that you
(21:03):
come away from that.
There's no possible way that Ithink you could come away from
it being upset that you watchedit.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Yeah, that's a great way to end that whole statement
there, because it's a movie thatI'm glad we added to our
catalog, that we watched and wegot to discuss.
I did not add it to my 2024list, I did forget.
I'm going to do that as we wrapup that conversation.
Yeah, I'm going to need amoment to really think about
(21:33):
this.
So, as I focus back up on thescore that I gave it, it seems
harsh, but the movie had so muchgoing for it in the first half
and I just think that, given thecircumstances of the film and
we'll elaborate on this a littlebit more in a moment in that
spoiler section I think thismovie turns into a tension
(21:54):
building, interesting film abouta true story, and it's not less
interesting because it's a truestory in that second half, but
the way that it plays out isless interesting and I just I
wanted to give this movie a fouras well and I feel like that
being my biggest gripe, beinglike a one and a half star
(22:16):
deduction is kind of like insane, but in my gut this movie is a
three and a half.
It's probably more of a 3.75.
It's just short of that fourstar rating.
For that reason maybe.
Maybe I feel differently onsecond watch through if I was to
ever go around to it.
But this movie is also, youknow, very sad.
It's a very sad story and do Iwant to dive into that again?
(22:39):
Not really, and I've seen sadmovies before that I want to
dive into again.
So those are probably the twobiggest reasons for my
particular score and Phil of thetwo biggest reasons for my
particular score and phil as faras 2024 films.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Where did this rank for you?
I have it at number 11, soright outside the top 10, right
behind dune part 2 and in frontof twisters yeah, that's crazy.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
That is crazy.
I'm yeah, I'm gonna put it at23, which would put it right
under Nosferatu, which is crazy,considering how I felt about
that movie walking out of thetheater and right above Civil
War.
Yeah, so I feel like that's areally good spot.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
I forget all the time that we saw Civil War and
really I only remember at thispoint Jesse Plemons.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
So yeah, that movie exists in like a weird plane
because it's good.
Kaylee Spiney is great in it,though, too.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Yeah, that is true, and the guy, the main guy for me
.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
So the main guy in that.
I'm like I'm going to, I'mgoing to double check this, but
I'm like 90 percent sure heplays Puss in Boots.
He plays death in Puss in Boots.
So, oh, he plays Puss in Boots.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
He plays Death in Puss in Boots.
Oh Wagner Mora yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Yeah, I'm pretty positive, Puss in Boots take a
shot.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
How did we bring up the last wish?
And I'm still here.
That wasn't even on purpose.
That one came up organically.
There's no way, man.
We're not even doing it onpurpose anymore.
I don't know what that was.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
I don't know what that was that was that was crazy
anyway.
Where?
Speaker 2 (24:15):
is it on?
I'll go first my internationalfeature lists.
I have it ranked number 13,behind old boy and in front of
okja yeah, on my list.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
Uh, it is number 18 behind okjaja Decision to Leave
and All Quiet on the WesternFront.
But right above, 28 Days Later,Wolfwalkers and Wolf Children.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
We're at the point now where this list is insane.
This list of films that we haveis crazy, and obviously there
are some that I have higher thanyou and vice versa, but looking
at these movies, it's likecrazy.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
And there's.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Emilia Perez.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Again is in looking at these movies, it's like crazy
I know there's amelia perez,again it's we, we can't stress
this enough like when, when itcame down to us figuring out
like what series we wanted tointroduce to the podcast at that
time and keep you know, I justkept thinking, like there are so
many international films wedidn't get to see, and like it'd
be cool if we get some of youguys along for the ride and
maybe we convince you to watch afilm and you end up loving it.
But, like, at the end of theday, like this was really for
(25:20):
two things One, to expand ourfilmography and then two to find
more films that we could likeconnect over and we could really
appreciate.
Two, to find more films that wecould like connect over and we
could really appreciate.
And man Phil, like off of thislist alone, there are so many
films that we either quote or wethink of or we reference in
other episodes and it's yeah,it's one of my proudest
(25:43):
achievements of decisions thatwe made on the podcast was this
series in particular.
Late to the Party is fun.
We've also in a way, done thesame thing there.
But International Feature,specifically, is so specific
that I think that you know it'sa real accomplishment and, yeah,
I am happy that we made thatchoice, but we also have
(26:04):
spoilers to talk about for thisfilm, so you know what to do
here.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
You guys know what to do.
Listen to the video.
For those of you that are onthe YouTube audience get out.
Get out.
If you have not seen, I'm Stillhere and you're complaining
about subtitles, shut up and gowatch the film.
You can rent it for like sixdollars on Amazon Prime, but
make sure you go check out themovie before listening to this
part.
(26:29):
So yeah, eric, I mean, like Isaid, I mean this is a true
story.
So there, how much can wereally really spoil?
So what did you want to uh,discuss here?
Speaker 1 (26:39):
yeah.
So I mean like we didn't shyaway from it, but we didn't.
I don't think we came out andright and outright and said it
that rubens the, the husband,the father, does die.
Uh, he is dead.
He's pretty much deadimmediately after being taken,
pretty quick.
Which is crazy to learn like,yeah, which is crazy to learn,
(27:00):
sad to learn like very sad.
The actor that played him likevery fatherly, like the
performance was great.
Again, fernando torres isamazing in this.
I just think that she can onlycarry the film so much without
addressing like the elephants inthe room.
Like I understand the motheraspect of like lying to the kids
and, hey, smile, but like he'sgone for like a long time, I do
(27:24):
think that there is, there is apayoff there of like the kids
figuring it out, addressing itwith her head on.
Maybe and again I know it'sbased off a true story but like
what was their reaction?
Did they think they might wantto do something about this too?
Was it just the mother thatwanted to do that?
I don't know.
I just felt like there was meaton the bone of the story that
(27:47):
went untouched and maybe it wasbecause they didn't want to
disrespect and dramatize thestory by doing that.
But I just felt like it made itless interesting as a film and I
think that's my biggest issue,because then the time jumps
happen and in those time jumpsyou mentioned it on the episode
the son is in a fuckingwheelchair and we just don't
(28:10):
talk about like what happenedthere, we don't see the other
children or anybody else thatwas involved in this story and I
don't know.
It almost feels like the storywas set up for failure in that
aspect with me, because you dolearn in the credits that five
people were charged but neverwent to prison, so it's not even
(28:32):
like you could have like ahappy ending in that way.
I don't know.
I feel like I'm between a rockand a hard place of like
respecting this true story andthe way it was told, versus what
I mentioned earlier, like thatdramatization that would have
enhanced the film and thecharacters, even though these
are characters of real people,to me they're characters in a
(28:53):
movie, so like I wanted to seethat progression and I feel like
we lost some of that.
Even if Fernando Torres, fromstart to finish, was amazing, I
just felt like as a film,character-wise, it could have
been enhanced in that way.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Yeah, and I'm sure, at least from like the very
little that I have seen in termsof press, that they did, it
didn't seem like they were veryinterested in any type of
dramatization.
So, staying true to the story,being respectful to this, the
source material, and you knoweverything that that happens,
also a story that hits veryclose to home, even in 2025.
(29:29):
So, probably not wanting to gothat, I'm sure all of that
played very, very heavy in termsof the decisions that they made
when it comes to this film.
I also would have liked to knowa little bit more about, like
she has, this group of friendsthat are alluded to as press,
but we don't really.
We get like a the idea and wecan context clues.
(29:50):
We know that they're.
You know they're trying, theyhave to navigate what they do
and do not release and then alittle bit later there's it
seems like a tabloid is thereright that?
Not even like a serious newspublication, like how did that
all come to be?
So there are things that andyou know what they're probably
doing Eric is just encouragingyou to go look into the real
(30:11):
story.
You know, I'm sure that is whatthey want when it comes to this
, but for film purposes.
Like you said, there's just somethings we would like expanded
upon, especially in that thirdact, like I said.
Like, where are the other kids?
You know what has happened he's.
You know the son.
I have learned like the sonwrote a book.
The book is called I Am Stillhere and that was the whole.
You know he had written the bookthat ended up being this film
(30:33):
to talk about what a hero thathis mother was, which is
outstanding.
So, but just like I would haveliked to know more of that about
that.
Like, when did he decide towrite that book?
You know what?
Some of those decisions interms of as she progressed and
got a little bit older, like howdid they take care of her and
how did she manage that grief asshe slowly started to lose
memory of what happened andeverything that she did, so,
(30:56):
yeah, just things that, when itcomes to film, like the actual
film we would have liked to seemore of.
But I assume and I don't knowif this is the case or not what
they want you to do is just goout and learn more about this
actual, this actual person andwhat happened.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Yeah, and maybe the history of what that that
dictatorship in brazil lookedlike, you know, and the
atrocities that happened there,like that makes a lot of sense.
I just feel like you know, ifyou're going to show us having
uh, you know, you're going toshow us that dog dying, you
could have showed us, you know,how that accident happened and
how that was the dog's name.
Uh, uh damn it started with a p, and I know that.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
I know that for sure too it was a p because it was
named after her boyfriend yeah,it was like pa pa something.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
I'm still here, dog, let's look it up.
Nope, nope, that's not.
It didn it Pim Pow?
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Pim Pow.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Pim Pow yeah so yeah, oh this book was published in
2024.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
Stop, stop, stop getting me.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Hey, right here I got distracted, sorry.
Yeah, anyway, I digress.
That was my Again.
I like I don't have many moregripes.
It's such a big gri.
I was borderline.
I was so interested in thebeginning of this movie and then
I was so close not quite, butso close to being bored in the
(32:27):
second half and I feel bad.
I feel bad that that was thecase.
It is a true story, it's animportant story to be told.
But, just as a consumer of afilm, I got to be honest with
myself and that's how I felt.
So that's why I gave it thethree and a half.
I got to be honest with myselfand that that's how I felt.
So that's that's why I gave itthe three and a half, because,
like, if it was on, I definitelywould you know, just for
Fernando Torres alone and thechemistry of the family
(32:50):
throughout the film, it wouldpique my interest.
But, yeah, not a movie that Ithink that I would go see.
It is a movie you couldrecommend to people, but that's
also like such a selective group, right, like people that are
interested in this type of storyor international films.
Like I feel like we know peoplelike that, but general audience
(33:10):
wise, probably not a movie thatwould be on most people's radar
.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Yeah, and that's why, like there are just so many
different types of films thatare on this list for us when it
comes to international future,that all give us totally
different things.
I mean, look at my top 10.
It's got train to busan rrr.
Benji's finish here in pastlives in bruges, another round.
Those films don't have anythingin common, like they're all
(33:37):
outstanding and some of the bestfilms that I've ever seen
memories of murder, like thefilms that I've I would have
never watched without this.
So even if people like generalaudiences aren't seeking them
out, at least we have thatcategory that helps us find
these films.
So, yeah, even if you don'tnecessarily think that this
would be your cup of tea, Icertainly still employ you to
(33:59):
check it out, just like Ericsaid, because it is a very
important story to tell.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
Yeah, I need to watch the Banshees of Innish here and
again, so I can just give itthe five that I want to give it.
I don't know why.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
I'm pretty sure I've given it a five you gave it a
five.
Yeah, because I was at a fourand a half and I was like, nope,
I love that film with everyfiber of my being.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
I could change it bygones be bygones, but I want
to see it a second time tosolidify it.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
Look at the donkeys in the picture.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
So good, so good, but yeah no like.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
I got to move that up .
Speaker 1 (34:28):
Did I.
Speaker 2 (34:30):
Did I?
I thought you did Cutting offfingers Fucking good dude God.
I'm going to start cutting offmy fingers and giving them to
you Whenever the podcast isabout to end, I'm going to start
cutting off fingers.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
Oh man, but guys, that was our episode on it.
You know, I don't know thatwe're already starting to get
off topic, which isdisrespectful to the film that
we just covered, because it wasa very great film.
If you're still here and youheard the spoilers, it really
doesn't take away from your viewof the film.
Phil kind of mentioned it likehow much can we really spoil
about a true story?
Your view of the film, philkind of mentioned it like how
much can we really spoil about atrue story?
(35:04):
I think the performances andthe chemistry in this movie, and
even the filmmaking itself, aregood enough to warrant a
guaranteed watch and, at thevery least, a good time,
something that you canappreciate and you can
absolutely put on your film list, uh, of things that you need to
see, especially if you'retrying to catch up on the
(35:25):
whirlwind of films that was 2024.
So, phil, with that being said,I think we are good to kind of
wrap this up and, yeah, move onto our next international film
and continue to add to that list.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
Last thing I will bring up before we wrap up here.
Last thing I will bring upbefore we wrap up here Would you
, now that you've seen this,you've seen all the rest of the
films that were nominated wouldyou have given?
Speaker 1 (35:51):
Fernando Torres the best actress.
Nod over Mikey Madison.
That's tough, yeah, that'stough.
I also was a big Cynthia Erivobacker.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
I thought, after all that stuff happened you know the
Mike, the Enora, intimacy stuff, and then Amelia Perez,
obviously, and then, uh, youknow, with the substance being
horror like they're, they'restill fighting that uphill
battle.
So I thought maybe they wouldjust take the easy way out and
give it to her.
But honestly, and I love Mikey,I love Enora, one of my
favorite films of 2025, 2024.
But if now, seeing this, ifthey had given it to Fernanda
Torres, knowing what I know now,I would not have been upset.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
I wouldn't have been upset either.
Let me move this over here.
I wouldn't have been upseteither.
No, best actress, I'm justlooking.
Who are the other people?
Fernanda Torres, Demi Moore, theone from Amelia Perez, cynthia
Erivo and Mikey Madison.
And Mikey Madison, yeah, I meanlike no, I you madison, yeah, I
mean like no, I would have beenokay.
I would have been okay with thewin.
I do think I was a big cynthiaarrivo backer, just because of
(36:48):
how fucking iconic wicked is andhow much it blew me away, um,
but I was more backing arianafor her category because it was
a weaker category in my opinion.
So, yeah, I would say shedefinitely deserved to be
nominated, deserved to be afront runner.
I would have been okay witheither Fernanda Torres or Mikey
(37:08):
Madison.
That's kind of where a 1A, 1bsituation you really could have
given it to either.
And to me, moore deserves therespect too.
As much as I didn't like thesubstance which I gave it a
three.
So I shouldn't say that it'sjust not.
I know it's just not.
Anyway, I don't want to do thisright now.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
Well, eric likes to hand out three out of fives.
What you should not do is giveus a three out of five.
You should give us a five outof five on any podcast player,
such as Apple Podcasts orSpotify, that is so beneficial
to us.
And make sure you click thelink in the show notes of this
episode and find us on socialmedia, the most important ones
being Instagram, tiktok, ourgrowing and flourishing Discord
community, as well as over onYouTube, and we are streaming
(37:51):
basically every week now, withsome bonus streams happening all
of the time.
Make sure you also follow Ericand I's personal accounts.
Eric has been putting out a tonof content over on Instagram and
TikTok, and I have been on thisjourney to become a voice actor
, so if you want to keep up withour personal stories as well,
make sure you follow us there.
And yep, I already mentioned,you know, as far as giving us a
(38:12):
five-star review.
Oh, tag us.
Tag us on social media.
Let us know that you'relistening, let other people know
that you're listening.
All that is so beneficial andwe love to see it.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
And if you find yourself wanting some extra
perks from the podcast and maybeseeing behind the scenes stuff
and getting these episodes superearly.
Eric will let you know moreabout that before wrapping us up
.
So one of the best ways that youcould support the show,
additionally from the free stuffthat Phil mentioned, is Patreon
, where patrons of the show aresupporting us and in exchange
for that support, they aregetting behind the scenes looks,
bonus content and, as of thismonth, very, very, very early
(38:48):
access to many of our episodes,as we are starting to get ahead
on our episodes as we areadjusting our schedule.
So thank you to Briar, stefanT3, kato, vintage Macaroni,
corey from the World's myBurrito and Nick Casparo, the
author of the Vidularium series,which was our creator spotlight
episode for the month of April.
Make sure to check out thatepisode and consider joining our
(39:11):
Patreon account, but if youdon't do that, that's okay,
we'll forgive you.
All the free stuff is very muchappreciated and we definitely
cannot do it without you.
With all that being said, myname is Mr Eric Almighty.
That is my co-host, phil theFilipino, and please don't
forget, we release new episodesfor the podcast every Wednesday
and all you gotta do is wait forit.
Speaker 2 (39:38):
This is the Wait For it Podcast.
Welcome to your go-to source for entertainment.
Wait for it.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Gaming.
Wait for it Anime PLUS ULTRA.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Mr Eric Almighty and Phil the Filipino.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Yeah, they've got you covered, and all you gotta do
is wait for it.
This is the Wait For it Podcast.
Hey, everyone, welcome back tothe Wait For it Podcast.
(00:37):
I'm your co-host, phil Barrera,aka Phil the Filipino.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
And I'm your other co-host, mr Eric Almighty, and
for this edition ofInternational Feature, we are
going back to last year to talkabout the best international
film and the one that won anOscar in 2024.
And that movie is.
I'm Still here.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
And thank goodness it won that award.
If you do not remember thechaos that was the Emilia Perez
debacle, if you want to hear ourthoughts on that film, you can
go back into the podcast andlisten to that one.
But we are going to be talkingabout a much better film here
today.
Like you said, eric, with2024's I'm Still here, directed
by Walter Salas.
(01:20):
I should have looked that upahead of time, but here we are,
we're recording and it's it'shappening, as I should have
looked that up ahead of time,but here we are, we're recording
and it's happening.
But yeah, eric, obviously very,very heavy subject matter when
it comes to I'm Still here and Iactually I went into it
relatively blind.
I knew that it was taking on avery, very serious subject as
well as a true story, but didn'treally know, like, the true
(01:42):
depth or the backstory of whatwent into it until I actually
sat down and started watching itand also doing a little bit of
research.
So we're going to talk aboutthat here today.
If you want to know where youcan find the rest of our content
, as well as follow us on socialmedia and get some additional
perks perhaps, then make sureyou stick around to the very end
of the episode and we will goover all of that, but let's get
(02:03):
into it here, eric, the synopsisof the film.
In 1971, military dictatorshipin Brazil reaches its height.
The Paiva family Rubens, euniceand their five children live in
a beachside house in Rio, opento all their friends.
One day, rubens is taken forquestioning and does not return.
So, once again, this is basedoff of a true story of Eunice
(02:27):
Paiva and played by we'll starthere just the absolute force
that is Fernanda Torres.
She came away with quite a fewawards and a ton of recognition
for this performance and I justwant to start right there
because she is outstanding inthis and a lot of dramatic roles
, whether it be fiction ornonfiction.
(02:50):
A lot of people find value inthose roles, I think for the
very loud dramatic moments whereyou know there's a lot of.
You can see a lot of pain andsuffering, but also hear a lot
of pain and suffering withinthose characters, and I think
(03:10):
what makes Eunice, obviouslybeing a in real life, a
powerhouse of her own, whatmakes this performance so
memorable, is her suffering insilence, but also her taking
action in silence, and I wasreally happy that we finally got
to see this performance fromFernanda Torres 100%.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
That's really the reason, phil, when you brought
this up, that I was eveninterested in seeing it because
I had seen a couple of clipshere and there and I was like
man, she's, she's good, she'sgood.
I also wanted to know did ZoeSaldana steal an award from her
Spoiler alert?
She did.
She did as much as as we loveher as an actress.
Uh, not in that movie, not inthat movie, but I didn't know
(03:54):
anything about this movie, phil,going into it.
As far as the topic, I couldkind of guess, based off the
trailer, you know what we weredealing with.
But, again, understanding thatthis was like a true story and
the real backstory behind it,it's all driven through Fernando
Torres's performance, and Imean just a powerhouse, absolute
(04:16):
powerhouse.
That is one of my favoriteperformances of a film that I
saw last year and is probablygoing to be one of our biggest
talking points.
In the spoiler free section,like this movie did come out
last year, we'll probably openup a spoiler spot at the end.
Although, phil, this movie Idon't want to say it's
(04:36):
straightforward, but I mean itkind of is Once you hear that
synopsis, you kind of have anidea of where this is going.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Yeah, it's also, you know, a true story.
So if you want, you can GoogleEunice Paiva and figure out what
happens and how we got here.
In this film, I will say one ofthe things that I really,
really enjoyed is how much timethey spent just kind of getting
to know this family and in thebeginning, again knowing like a
(05:09):
little bit about what this wasabout, I was kind of like
confused as to where is this alltie in?
What is going to be the tippingpoint of this film, where we
get into what the actual issueis, and once that did happen, I
had a better understanding of oh, that's why we spent so much
time getting to know these kids,getting to know, getting to
(05:31):
spend so much time with theirrelationships and the complexity
of all of them and how thesetwo parents, you know, have done
everything for their childrento give them this wonderful life
.
They live in this beautiful homeright on the beach and it just
seems like everything is sogreat and but it's always right
underneath the surface.
You know they're.
They're at the beach and like amilitary convoy drives by,
(05:52):
right, you know, in the verybeginning of the movie she's
driving around with her friendsand then they get stopped at a,
at a checkpoint right.
So amongst the beauty of thesetting that is rio, um, then
that threat is always so present.
So the way that this is becausethey could have really just
kind of dove into the whole cruxof the movie in terms of where
(06:15):
this all takes a turn.
They could have done thatreally right away, because it is
a historical film and becauseall of this actually happened.
But getting to know the Paivafamily was a big highlight for
me.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Yeah, I would agree with that.
And then I want to go to yourpoint about the tension in the
film and some of the things theydid to build that tension.
I thought it was extremelysuccessful, especially in that
first half of the film.
So the first act.
Going into the second act, Ithought that tension building is
what kept this to be.
You, you know, this kept itfrom being disinteresting and it
(06:48):
made me invested in seeing whatwas going to happen with this
family.
That you are kind of growingand maybe not an attachment to
per se, but you are starting toreally appreciate and I really
liked that about this movie.
I also really enjoyed thecinematography here.
You know this.
This doesn't look like a moviethat was filmed in 2024.
(07:10):
That's kind of the aestheticthey're going for.
You know they do the recorderfootage here and there.
Uh, they, they risk using thatmaybe one too many times for my
liking, but those did help.
Add to the element of this ismore of a grounded filmmaking
and the fact that this is aBrazilian film and to my
understanding, they haven'tgotten much love any time
(07:32):
recently.
So getting an Oscar nominationwas huge, let alone a win for
Best International Film.
I like that, we got to add thistype of a movie to our catalog
for this particular series.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Yep, and you're alluding to the Super 8 footage
that is used in the film.
I did like that Again.
It kind of gives you anintimacy with the family and
kind of gets you to see thingsthrough their eyes.
But, yeah, really solidperformances all around as well,
from the really kind of tryingto understand, like probably,
how terrified those kids were.
(08:08):
You know, once again, they live.
I don't want to say it was atotally privileged lifestyle,
but, you know, compared to justknowing what we know, which is
very little about brazil andkind of the economics down there
, seem to live a pretty perfectlife in terms of like what you
want, like you, they walk acrossthe street to the beach, to the
.
A pretty perfect life in termsof like what you want, like
(08:29):
you're, they walk across thestreet to the beach, to the, to
the ocean.
That's a nightmare for you andI, but for this family who loves
the beach, you know, just a anidyllic way to probably grow up,
uh, you know, especially inthat time, um, and you know, and
for someone who, as far asRubens Paiva, you know, learning
more about his story andlearning that he just cared so
(08:50):
much that he put himself at risk, is something that is just
really, really fascinating and,like you said, eric, really
happy that this is a film thatwe have now been able to add to
our library.
For not to compare and contrast, because obviously they're
totally different to our library.
For not to compare and contrastbecause obviously they're
totally different, but likefeeling totally different after
watching this, as compared totaxi driver, which is another
(09:10):
film I think years from now I'mstill here, will probably live
in, you know, in terms of the,the cinematography and the film
crowd they'll probably talkabout I'm still here, you know,
hopefully in 20 years, the sameway that they.
We now talk about a lot of themtalk about taxi driver, uh,
where we just kind of felt likekind of icky after taxi driver,
right, and coming away from this.
Yes, it is still a devastatingstory, but knowing that this,
(09:33):
like this badass woman was justlike I'm gonna go back to school
and I'm gonna fix this and it'sgonna take me some time, but
like knowing more about her andand the story is, uh, you know,
I'm like just to echo againreally happy that we have now
know about it.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
For sure, and I mean the fact that Taxi Driver was
the last episode that we didbefore this one.
You know it's fresh on ourminds, which is why it's coming
up here.
A much different film and amuch different reception, I
think, for both of us, butespecially me, when it comes to.
I'm still here and you know thething about this movie though
it's not perfect and I thinkwe'll transition into maybe some
(10:12):
criticisms but I think thething that I really took away
from this was just how muchbetter it was than Amelia Perez,
like just so, so much better.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
And you know what?
I'm still here Needed some rapsome rap penis and vagina
wrapping.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Yeah, it's rough, it's rough.
It's rough to see a film likethis Get as much recognition as
it could for being theinternational film that came out
last year.
That wasn't Amelia Perez, andthat really pisses me off a
little bit because, like AmeliaPerez took the news cycle, I
feel like this film deservedthat attention that Amelia Perez
(10:57):
got, and it just really upsetsme that there are people in the
world that actually thought thatmovie was better than this one.
So yeah, I am ready to fill totalk personally about a couple
of gripes that I had with thefilm.
They're very, very specificthings that I think may be
better explained in the spoilersection, but I will at least
(11:19):
bring them up high level.
Did you have anything else froma positive standpoint that you
wanted to touch on?
Again, we could go back andtalk maybe another 15 minutes
about Fernanda Torres.
So if I was to say anythingelse is just to go back to that
point.
She is amazing, everybody'samazing.
It feels like a real family.
The performances are great.
(11:40):
I can't quite put what she didor what the direction was for
her character to come off thescreen in that way, but it was,
it was powerful, it really was.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
It makes you.
It just you come away from itwanting to watch more of her and
learn more about her, and youknow, even in some of the
interviews that I watch, likeshe just commands your attention
, and it doesn't surprise methat that translates off the
screen as much as it does on thescreen.
So, yeah, she is just sofantastic to go back to.
(12:13):
Unfortunately, to bring upAmelia Perez, remember there is
a chance that some voters didn'teven watch this, which makes
should make you even angrier.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Yes, it does so they watched one international film
and voted on that category, andit's like amelia perez exactly
so it was great.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Oh, I like that.
Uh, I like that song.
They're like doing a littledance like selena gomez, like
they're like.
So that should make you evenangrier the fact that they had
to implement a rule that, ifthey find out you haven't
watched all the oscar films, youcan't vote just now.
Like how is that just now?
Because we have a podcast wherewe, with a smaller, much
smaller audience than theoscars- and we're like, and
(12:54):
we're like we're not gonna talkabout it if we haven't seen it.
Yeah, imagine we did this sixmonths ago.
And we're like, yeah, I don'tknow, amelia perez is probably
better.
How much, how much music is in?
I'm still here I don't.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
I didn't see any.
I didn't see them singing inthe trailer yeah yeah, that
that's uh, that's a tough time.
I don't want to be too nitpicky,but there are a couple things
with this movie that I thinkdrag it down from being great
Like I really enjoyed it.
I really really enjoyed it.
And these might be morenitpicky things.
(13:32):
I'm going to start with the onethat maybe bothered me the most
, that I kind of hold againstthis movie, and it's the runtime
.
The movie's two hours and 14minutes and on the surface that
doesn't sound like a long time,phil.
I don't sound like a long time.
Phil, I don't know how you feltthis movie drags in that third
act.
Now, some things happen in thatthird act.
(13:56):
We'll talk about that in thespoiler section, maybe a little
bit more as far as the time thattakes, that all of that takes
place.
But I just think, phil, thismovie was it could have been
condensed to maybe an hour 45.
That's like 30 minutes ofruntime, which is kind of that
third act.
That third act could have been amontage, in my opinion.
So I'm curious what you thoughtabout it, because once we take
(14:18):
that turn and there is a littlebit of a time jump situation, I
don't know, I just felt muchmore disinterested in it and
that's probably my biggest gripewith the film that that third
act is not nearly as strong asthe first two when it comes to
the tension building and all ofthat.
There's not also much of aresolve, and I understand that's
the story, but I don't know.
(14:39):
Just from a film perspective itleft me feeling a little
disappointed at the end as faras enjoying the journey but not
necessarily the destination.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
So I think I think you could probably keep the film
the same length and maybe giveus more in terms of how did
school go for her?
How did all of this process gowith trying to?
You know, once democracy wasreinstated in Brazil, how much?
Why did it take her 25 years toget this death certificate?
(15:11):
You know, and that part of thefilm and then also seeing the
picture, the actual picture ofEunice Paiva with the death
certificate is so powerful and Ithink you know, getting to see,
maybe the kids grew up a littlebit like remember, like there
was like a little bit ofemotional whiplash because the
son has had an accident and wedon't know anything about that.
(15:32):
You know, we know that he haswritten a book about it and he's
talked about this story, but Iwas like, did I miss something?
Like what happened?
So I think maybe keep the storyat the same length, but like I
would have liked to know howdifferent their life was once
they had to leave Rio and youknow what went into that
decision.
Like how difficult was it for amother of five to go to school
(15:52):
full-time, to become this lawyerand get all this done?
I would have liked to know alittle bit more about that, as
opposed to the massive two timejumps we get.
So again, it's 25 years, is along time.
They're getting the deathcertificate and then again we
see the part at the end.
I did like the end in terms ofseeing all the family together.
I think that, but I think itwill work even better if we know
(16:14):
, because there's only two kidsin the jump ahead.
So, like what's everybody elseup to, I'd have also liked to
know that.
So maybe, even if it is alittle bit shorter, if you did
cut 10, 15 minutes, but justseeing more of their life after
they had left their home, whichI can only imagine, was
incredibly difficult, likethere's a really good scene in
that, in that act, where they'retalking about when did they
(16:37):
bury their father, like in theirhead, and I really, really like
that discussion between the twoof them, because I can't even
imagine what type of just howthat would feel in terms of
dealing with someone who'smissing, and you can't ever
really put them to restphysically, so you have to do it
in their mind.
So I think, expanding upon that, maybe you would have felt a
(16:58):
little bit differently.
What do you think?
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Yeah, I get where you're coming from.
This is going to sound bad.
I don't mean it in a negativeway, but like I kind of
understand why they dramatizestories like this sure like from
from a maybe from anentertainment value of like
consuming the media, the mediumor the media that's being
presented.
Because, like you're saying, youcouldn't imagine it.
(17:21):
And like, in my head I'm like,well, they could have shown us
that, like they could have shownus and again, I think a lot of
this I'm gonna have to elaboratein the spoiler section but what
happened during that time jump?
You're focused on her, like asfar as the schooling and all
that, and I'm thinking like,well, there had to have been
some conversations and I thinkthere would have been some real
(17:42):
drama in those conversations,some heart-wrenching drama that
you really could have displayedwith these characters, and we
just didn't get that.
So I'll leave a lot of my likedirect thoughts on it for the
spoiler portion, which, again, Ican't imagine is going to be
long.
But you know, I still recommendthat you you check out this
film to make your own opinion.
(18:03):
And, phil, uh, I guess I'llkind of transition it over to
you.
Were there any nitpicky or bigitems that you wanted to address
?
As far as the criticisms orthings that could have gone
better, there there weren'treally too many that I could
come away with.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
now, you know, in my score I didn't give this like a
perfect score or anything likethat, but yeah, I think really I
kind of just addressed it likejust wanting to know a little
bit more and also spending alittle bit more time with the
kids.
Like leaving that home andessentially I think in their
minds like admitting defeat kindof, was probably really really
difficult and I can only imaginethat you know tensions were
(18:40):
already high in a home wherethey had quite a bit of space
and quite a bit of you know roomto move around and they seem to
have moved into an even morecramped position, sounded like
they were moving in with liketheir grandparents and how much
of a strain with that to put ontheir relationships where it was
already everybody was alreadyvery emotionally just worn out
and drained.
(19:00):
And you know, learning a littlebit more maybe as well about
about Rubens and how he washelping out the you know this
resistance like learning alittle bit more about that.
I will just to counter myselfmy own argument.
I do think that having it be asecret from also the audience is
a good choice, but at the sametime, I would like to know more
(19:22):
about what he was doing just onthe you know, outside of the
scope of what we saw.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
Yeah, that's totally fair and I think there's more to
be had in the spoiler part ofthat conversation.
So I think transitioning hereto the reception of this film,
our scores and then, you know,talking about spoilers, will be
a good way to kind of put alittle bow on this episode.
But I think we're probablyready to have that dialogue.
So if you have not seen thefilm after our scores, we'll
(19:51):
give you that reminder.
But let's get into that, Phil,because I am curious where we
both landed.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Yeah, let's see where this sits here Now.
Unsurprisingly, very, very highscores across the board Rotten
Tomatoes 97% tomato meter scoreand a 97% popcorn meter score.
Percent tomato meter score anda 97 percent popcorn meter score
.
So one of those instances wherecritics and audiences agree.
Over on IMDb, it sits at aeight point three out of 10.
(20:20):
And then over on Letterboxd itis at a four point three.
So, and a majority of thoseEric over 50 percent, 59 percent
of those are five out of fives.
And when you look at the reviews, a lot of those Eric over 50%,
59% of those are five out offives.
And when you look at thereviews, a lot of them are in
Portuguese.
So I'm sure this resonates somuch more with those people and
who have ancestors right thatcould still be alive from this
(20:41):
time, which is totally insane tothink about.
So a lot of five out of tens orfive out of fives.
I gave this a four out of fivefor myself.
It is certainly one of thebetter films that we have
watched and also one of the bestfilms from 2024.
I don't know if you added thisto your 2024 list, eric.
I did so if you want to discusswhere that landed for us.
But yeah, four out of five forme and just a movie that you
(21:03):
come away from that.
There's no possible way that Ithink you could come away from
it being upset that you watchedit.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Yeah, that's a great way to end that whole statement
there, because it's a movie thatI'm glad we added to our
catalog, that we watched and wegot to discuss.
I did not add it to my 2024list, I did forget.
I'm going to do that as we wrapup that conversation.
Yeah, I'm going to need amoment to really think about
(21:33):
this.
So, as I focus back up on thescore that I gave it, it seems
harsh, but the movie had so muchgoing for it in the first half
and I just think that, given thecircumstances of the film and
we'll elaborate on this a littlebit more in a moment in that
spoiler section I think thismovie turns into a tension
(21:54):
building, interesting film abouta true story, and it's not less
interesting because it's a truestory in that second half, but
the way that it plays out isless interesting and I just I
wanted to give this movie a fouras well and I feel like that
being my biggest gripe, beinglike a one and a half star
(22:16):
deduction is kind of like insane, but in my gut this movie is a
three and a half.
It's probably more of a 3.75.
It's just short of that fourstar rating.
For that reason maybe.
Maybe I feel differently onsecond watch through if I was to
ever go around to it.
But this movie is also, youknow, very sad.
It's a very sad story and do Iwant to dive into that again?
(22:39):
Not really, and I've seen sadmovies before that I want to
dive into again.
So those are probably the twobiggest reasons for my
particular score and Phil of thetwo biggest reasons for my
particular score and phil as faras 2024 films.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Where did this rank for you?
I have it at number 11, soright outside the top 10, right
behind dune part 2 and in frontof twisters yeah, that's crazy.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
That is crazy.
I'm yeah, I'm gonna put it at23, which would put it right
under Nosferatu, which is crazy,considering how I felt about
that movie walking out of thetheater and right above Civil
War.
Yeah, so I feel like that's areally good spot.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
I forget all the time that we saw Civil War and
really I only remember at thispoint Jesse Plemons.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
So yeah, that movie exists in like a weird plane
because it's good.
Kaylee Spiney is great in it,though, too.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Yeah, that is true, and the guy, the main guy for me
.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
So the main guy in that.
I'm like I'm going to, I'mgoing to double check this, but
I'm like 90 percent sure heplays Puss in Boots.
He plays death in Puss in Boots.
So, oh, he plays Puss in Boots.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
He plays Death in Puss in Boots.
Oh Wagner Mora yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Yeah, I'm pretty positive, Puss in Boots take a
shot.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
How did we bring up the last wish?
And I'm still here.
That wasn't even on purpose.
That one came up organically.
There's no way, man.
We're not even doing it onpurpose anymore.
I don't know what that was.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
I don't know what that was that was that was crazy
anyway.
Where?
Speaker 2 (24:15):
is it on?
I'll go first my internationalfeature lists.
I have it ranked number 13,behind old boy and in front of
okja yeah, on my list.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
Uh, it is number 18 behind okjaja Decision to Leave
and All Quiet on the WesternFront.
But right above, 28 Days Later,Wolfwalkers and Wolf Children.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
We're at the point now where this list is insane.
This list of films that we haveis crazy, and obviously there
are some that I have higher thanyou and vice versa, but looking
at these movies, it's likecrazy.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
And there's.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Emilia Perez.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Again is in looking at these movies, it's like crazy
I know there's amelia perez,again it's we, we can't stress
this enough like when, when itcame down to us figuring out
like what series we wanted tointroduce to the podcast at that
time and keep you know, I justkept thinking, like there are so
many international films wedidn't get to see, and like it'd
be cool if we get some of youguys along for the ride and
maybe we convince you to watch afilm and you end up loving it.
But, like, at the end of theday, like this was really for
(25:20):
two things One, to expand ourfilmography and then two to find
more films that we could likeconnect over and we could really
appreciate.
Two, to find more films that wecould like connect over and we
could really appreciate.
And man Phil, like off of thislist alone, there are so many
films that we either quote or wethink of or we reference in
other episodes and it's yeah,it's one of my proudest
(25:43):
achievements of decisions thatwe made on the podcast was this
series in particular.
Late to the Party is fun.
We've also in a way, done thesame thing there.
But International Feature,specifically, is so specific
that I think that you know it'sa real accomplishment and, yeah,
I am happy that we made thatchoice, but we also have
(26:04):
spoilers to talk about for thisfilm, so you know what to do
here.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
You guys know what to do.
Listen to the video.
For those of you that are onthe YouTube audience get out.
Get out.
If you have not seen, I'm Stillhere and you're complaining
about subtitles, shut up and gowatch the film.
You can rent it for like sixdollars on Amazon Prime, but
make sure you go check out themovie before listening to this
part.
(26:29):
So yeah, eric, I mean, like Isaid, I mean this is a true
story.
So there, how much can wereally really spoil?
So what did you want to uh,discuss here?
Speaker 1 (26:39):
yeah.
So I mean like we didn't shyaway from it, but we didn't.
I don't think we came out andright and outright and said it
that rubens the, the husband,the father, does die.
Uh, he is dead.
He's pretty much deadimmediately after being taken,
pretty quick.
Which is crazy to learn like,yeah, which is crazy to learn,
(27:00):
sad to learn like very sad.
The actor that played him likevery fatherly, like the
performance was great.
Again, fernando torres isamazing in this.
I just think that she can onlycarry the film so much without
addressing like the elephants inthe room.
Like I understand the motheraspect of like lying to the kids
and, hey, smile, but like he'sgone for like a long time, I do
(27:24):
think that there is, there is apayoff there of like the kids
figuring it out, addressing itwith her head on.
Maybe and again I know it'sbased off a true story but like
what was their reaction?
Did they think they might wantto do something about this too?
Was it just the mother thatwanted to do that?
I don't know.
I just felt like there was meaton the bone of the story that
(27:47):
went untouched and maybe it wasbecause they didn't want to
disrespect and dramatize thestory by doing that.
But I just felt like it made itless interesting as a film and I
think that's my biggest issue,because then the time jumps
happen and in those time jumpsyou mentioned it on the episode
the son is in a fuckingwheelchair and we just don't
(28:10):
talk about like what happenedthere, we don't see the other
children or anybody else thatwas involved in this story and I
don't know.
It almost feels like the storywas set up for failure in that
aspect with me, because you dolearn in the credits that five
people were charged but neverwent to prison, so it's not even
(28:32):
like you could have like ahappy ending in that way.
I don't know.
I feel like I'm between a rockand a hard place of like
respecting this true story andthe way it was told, versus what
I mentioned earlier, like thatdramatization that would have
enhanced the film and thecharacters, even though these
are characters of real people,to me they're characters in a
(28:53):
movie, so like I wanted to seethat progression and I feel like
we lost some of that.
Even if Fernando Torres, fromstart to finish, was amazing, I
just felt like as a film,character-wise, it could have
been enhanced in that way.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Yeah, and I'm sure, at least from like the very
little that I have seen in termsof press, that they did, it
didn't seem like they were veryinterested in any type of
dramatization.
So, staying true to the story,being respectful to this, the
source material, and you knoweverything that that happens,
also a story that hits veryclose to home, even in 2025.
(29:29):
So, probably not wanting to gothat, I'm sure all of that
played very, very heavy in termsof the decisions that they made
when it comes to this film.
I also would have liked to knowa little bit more about, like
she has, this group of friendsthat are alluded to as press,
but we don't really.
We get like a the idea and wecan context clues.
(29:50):
We know that they're.
You know they're trying, theyhave to navigate what they do
and do not release and then alittle bit later there's it
seems like a tabloid is thereright that?
Not even like a serious newspublication, like how did that
all come to be?
So there are things that andyou know what they're probably
doing Eric is just encouragingyou to go look into the real
(30:11):
story.
You know, I'm sure that is whatthey want when it comes to this
, but for film purposes.
Like you said, there's just somethings we would like expanded
upon, especially in that thirdact, like I said.
Like, where are the other kids?
You know what has happened he's.
You know the son.
I have learned like the sonwrote a book.
The book is called I Am Stillhere and that was the whole.
You know he had written the bookthat ended up being this film
(30:33):
to talk about what a hero thathis mother was, which is
outstanding.
So, but just like I would haveliked to know more of that about
that.
Like, when did he decide towrite that book?
You know what?
Some of those decisions interms of as she progressed and
got a little bit older, like howdid they take care of her and
how did she manage that grief asshe slowly started to lose
memory of what happened andeverything that she did, so,
(30:56):
yeah, just things that, when itcomes to film, like the actual
film we would have liked to seemore of.
But I assume and I don't knowif this is the case or not what
they want you to do is just goout and learn more about this
actual, this actual person andwhat happened.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Yeah, and maybe the history of what that that
dictatorship in brazil lookedlike, you know, and the
atrocities that happened there,like that makes a lot of sense.
I just feel like you know, ifyou're going to show us having
uh, you know, you're going toshow us that dog dying, you
could have showed us, you know,how that accident happened and
how that was the dog's name.
Uh, uh damn it started with a p, and I know that.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
I know that for sure too it was a p because it was
named after her boyfriend yeah,it was like pa pa something.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
I'm still here, dog, let's look it up.
Nope, nope, that's not.
It didn it Pim Pow?
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Pim Pow.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Pim Pow yeah so yeah, oh this book was published in
2024.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
Stop, stop, stop getting me.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Hey, right here I got distracted, sorry.
Yeah, anyway, I digress.
That was my Again.
I like I don't have many moregripes.
It's such a big gri.
I was borderline.
I was so interested in thebeginning of this movie and then
I was so close not quite, butso close to being bored in the
(32:27):
second half and I feel bad.
I feel bad that that was thecase.
It is a true story, it's animportant story to be told.
But, just as a consumer of afilm, I got to be honest with
myself and that's how I felt.
So that's why I gave it thethree and a half.
I got to be honest with myselfand that that's how I felt.
So that's that's why I gave itthe three and a half, because,
like, if it was on, I definitelywould you know, just for
Fernando Torres alone and thechemistry of the family
(32:50):
throughout the film, it wouldpique my interest.
But, yeah, not a movie that Ithink that I would go see.
It is a movie you couldrecommend to people, but that's
also like such a selective group, right, like people that are
interested in this type of storyor international films.
Like I feel like we know peoplelike that, but general audience
(33:10):
wise, probably not a movie thatwould be on most people's radar
.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Yeah, and that's why, like there are just so many
different types of films thatare on this list for us when it
comes to international future,that all give us totally
different things.
I mean, look at my top 10.
It's got train to busan rrr.
Benji's finish here in pastlives in bruges, another round.
Those films don't have anythingin common, like they're all
(33:37):
outstanding and some of the bestfilms that I've ever seen
memories of murder, like thefilms that I've I would have
never watched without this.
So even if people like generalaudiences aren't seeking them
out, at least we have thatcategory that helps us find
these films.
So, yeah, even if you don'tnecessarily think that this
would be your cup of tea, Icertainly still employ you to
(33:59):
check it out, just like Ericsaid, because it is a very
important story to tell.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
Yeah, I need to watch the Banshees of Innish here and
again, so I can just give itthe five that I want to give it.
I don't know why.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
I'm pretty sure I've given it a five you gave it a
five.
Yeah, because I was at a fourand a half and I was like, nope,
I love that film with everyfiber of my being.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
I could change it bygones be bygones, but I want
to see it a second time tosolidify it.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
Look at the donkeys in the picture.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
So good, so good, but yeah no like.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
I got to move that up .
Speaker 1 (34:28):
Did I.
Speaker 2 (34:30):
Did I?
I thought you did Cutting offfingers Fucking good dude God.
I'm going to start cutting offmy fingers and giving them to
you Whenever the podcast isabout to end, I'm going to start
cutting off fingers.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
Oh man, but guys, that was our episode on it.
You know, I don't know thatwe're already starting to get
off topic, which isdisrespectful to the film that
we just covered, because it wasa very great film.
If you're still here and youheard the spoilers, it really
doesn't take away from your viewof the film.
Phil kind of mentioned it likehow much can we really spoil
about a true story?
Your view of the film, philkind of mentioned it like how
much can we really spoil about atrue story?
(35:04):
I think the performances andthe chemistry in this movie, and
even the filmmaking itself, aregood enough to warrant a
guaranteed watch and, at thevery least, a good time,
something that you canappreciate and you can
absolutely put on your film list, uh, of things that you need to
see, especially if you'retrying to catch up on the
(35:25):
whirlwind of films that was 2024.
So, phil, with that being said,I think we are good to kind of
wrap this up and, yeah, move onto our next international film
and continue to add to that list.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
Last thing I will bring up before we wrap up here.
Last thing I will bring upbefore we wrap up here Would you
, now that you've seen this,you've seen all the rest of the
films that were nominated wouldyou have given?
Speaker 1 (35:51):
Fernando Torres the best actress.
Nod over Mikey Madison.
That's tough, yeah, that'stough.
I also was a big Cynthia Erivobacker.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
I thought, after all that stuff happened you know the
Mike, the Enora, intimacy stuff, and then Amelia Perez,
obviously, and then, uh, youknow, with the substance being
horror like they're, they'restill fighting that uphill
battle.
So I thought maybe they wouldjust take the easy way out and
give it to her.
But honestly, and I love Mikey,I love Enora, one of my
favorite films of 2025, 2024.
But if now, seeing this, ifthey had given it to Fernanda
Torres, knowing what I know now,I would not have been upset.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
I wouldn't have been upset either.
Let me move this over here.
I wouldn't have been upseteither.
No, best actress, I'm justlooking.
Who are the other people?
Fernanda Torres, Demi Moore, theone from Amelia Perez, cynthia
Erivo and Mikey Madison.
And Mikey Madison, yeah, I meanlike no, I you madison, yeah, I
mean like no, I would have beenokay.
I would have been okay with thewin.
I do think I was a big cynthiaarrivo backer, just because of
(36:48):
how fucking iconic wicked is andhow much it blew me away, um,
but I was more backing arianafor her category because it was
a weaker category in my opinion.
So, yeah, I would say shedefinitely deserved to be
nominated, deserved to be afront runner.
I would have been okay witheither Fernanda Torres or Mikey
(37:08):
Madison.
That's kind of where a 1A, 1bsituation you really could have
given it to either.
And to me, moore deserves therespect too.
As much as I didn't like thesubstance which I gave it a
three.
So I shouldn't say that it'sjust not.
I know it's just not.
Anyway, I don't want to do thisright now.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
Well, eric likes to hand out three out of fives.
What you should not do is giveus a three out of five.
You should give us a five outof five on any podcast player,
such as Apple Podcasts orSpotify, that is so beneficial
to us.
And make sure you click thelink in the show notes of this
episode and find us on socialmedia, the most important ones
being Instagram, tiktok, ourgrowing and flourishing Discord
community, as well as over onYouTube, and we are streaming
(37:51):
basically every week now, withsome bonus streams happening all
of the time.
Make sure you also follow Ericand I's personal accounts.
Eric has been putting out a tonof content over on Instagram and
TikTok, and I have been on thisjourney to become a voice actor
, so if you want to keep up withour personal stories as well,
make sure you follow us there.
And yep, I already mentioned,you know, as far as giving us a
(38:12):
five-star review.
Oh, tag us.
Tag us on social media.
Let us know that you'relistening, let other people know
that you're listening.
All that is so beneficial andwe love to see it.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
And if you find yourself wanting some extra
perks from the podcast and maybeseeing behind the scenes stuff
and getting these episodes superearly.
Eric will let you know moreabout that before wrapping us up
.
So one of the best ways that youcould support the show,
additionally from the free stuffthat Phil mentioned, is Patreon
, where patrons of the show aresupporting us and in exchange
for that support, they aregetting behind the scenes looks,
bonus content and, as of thismonth, very, very, very early
(38:48):
access to many of our episodes,as we are starting to get ahead
on our episodes as we areadjusting our schedule.
So thank you to Briar, stefanT3, kato, vintage Macaroni,
corey from the World's myBurrito and Nick Casparo, the
author of the Vidularium series,which was our creator spotlight
episode for the month of April.
Make sure to check out thatepisode and consider joining our
(39:11):
Patreon account, but if youdon't do that, that's okay,
we'll forgive you.
All the free stuff is very muchappreciated and we definitely
cannot do it without you.
With all that being said, myname is Mr Eric Almighty.
That is my co-host, phil theFilipino, and please don't
forget, we release new episodesfor the podcast every Wednesday
and all you gotta do is wait forit.
Speaker 2 (39:38):
This is the Wait For it Podcast.
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