Ever since he lost his seat in congress in 1964, engineer Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello) lived a happy peaceful life with his wife Eunice (Fernanda Torres) in Rio de Janiero. They had four daughters, namely Vera (Valentina Herzage), Eliana (Luiza Kosovski), Nalu (Barbara Luz), Babiu (Cora Mora) and one son Marcelo (Guilherme Silveira). By 1970, Brazil was under a dictatorial rule that brought about political unrest all over the country.
One day in January 1971, Paiva was picked up by unidentified military men supposedly for questioning. Even as these strange men stayed behind to keep the family under virtual house arrest, Eunice bravely tried to keep a strong front for her children, optimistic that her husband was still coming back. A few days later, Eunice herself was taken with a bag put over her head, and brought to an unknown location for more questioning.
This political family drama was a true story based on the 2015 memoir written by Marcelo Rubens Pavia about the ordeal of his mother and their whole family following the forced disappearance of his father in 1971, as adapted by Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega. The film was directed by Walter Salles, acclaimed Brazilian director of "Central Station" (1999), "Behind the Sun" (2001), and "The Motorcycle Diaries" (2004).
Much media attention has been brought to this film because of its nominations for three Oscar Awards. Two were not really surprises -- Best International Film and Best Actress for Fernanda Torres. But the biggest shock came in the Best Picture, when this film also made the final shortlist! Fernanda Torres has already won the Golden Globe for Best Actress Drama, and is currently the biggest threat against Demi Moore's date with Oscar history.
Fernanda Torres's performance as Eunice Paiva is deservedly the centerpiece of this film. Her Eunice was a pillar of restraint and dignity in the face of the disappearance of her husband and the dire circumstances her family found themselves in. Torres made us feel Eunice's stress and anxieties as she made tough financial decisions, without resorting to cliched melodrama. For a 2014 scene, Eunice was played by Torres's real-life mother Fernanda Montenegro (who also received an Oscar nomination for her work in "Central Station").
For people all over the world who had lived through a dictatorial government, the topic of spouses and families left behind by disappeared political prisoners is a very familiar one. While watching this film, I thought about Cory Aquino when Ninoy was incarcerated for seven years in the 1970s. She likely had similar experiences as Eunice Pavia during those uncertain days. I know there had been local documentaries about desaparecidos in this country, but surely some stories are waiting to be told in a quality narrative film like this one. 8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment