The real Eunice never broke down, at least never in public.
The family of Rubens Paiva does not cry in front of the cameras.
Of course I want to dedicate this to my mother, she said.
‘I’m Still Here’ star Fernanda Torres wins Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama.Getty Images
In fact, she had only one request before the conversation started.
Let me just find my glasses, she said, so I can see you properly.
What were the initial discussions that you had with him aboutIm Still Here?
Walter Salles and Fernanda Torres talk ‘I’m Still Here’ at Contenders Film: Los AngelesRich Polk
I cried when I read it, and I said, Its wonderful, Walter.
But I thought he would do it with someone else, because I was too old to play Eunice.
At the beginning, shes 41.
Im 59 now, and I was 57 at that time.
I had no idea.
And then I started to work, and get really deep into the process.
DEADLINE: What did you do?
TORRES:The first thing is that Walter waited a long time to cast the actress for this part.
There was something there.
She worked with us [to create] a sense of family.
Of course, we also had the house.
The house is a character in the movie, and that house became our home.
In the house, there was no light any more.
We all had such pride that we wanted him to have a good experience.
So, in that party, we were all happy and partying.
Suddenly, that feeling is over, and [my character] is taken to prison.
I come back to that house to meet my adorable family, and Im different.
The whole process was very [organic].
From the beginning, Walter told me, Less, less.
I remember him saying that, telling me, Trust me, yo.Less.
And I said, I trust you completely, Walter.
The film didnt need it.
We all triedin my case, and I think Walters case as wellto be loyal to Eunice Paiva.
You see, she was the main guide for us.
DEADLINE: Did you do much research into her story?
How much did you decide you wanted to know about Eunice?
TORRES:Well, I knew it already, because Id read the book.
So, he was a hero, and he became a very good friend.
And not only mejournalists, and people who were usually very well-informed didnt know either.
DEADLINE: Did making this film bring back any memories?
TORRES:The house [in the film] was like the house of my youth in Rio.
I could feel it, smell it.
I knew those kinds of people, Eunice reminded me of my mother in the 70s.
I knew what Walter was talking about, that kind of Rio de Janeiro.
And then the story is not only about the father, but about this amazing mother.
And her character in the play was very moving, this strong woman who helped her boy to recover.
But this new book was much more than that.
This book talks about the coup.
I didnt know any of that.
The book was my main resource, and also the interviews that she gave.
Shes always smiling, even when shes telling you that her husband never returned home.
Even when she was talking about Marcelos accident, she had that smile.
Id never encountered that before.
Its not cold, but its not warm either.
Ive never encountered this.
And then when you discover Eunice, you discover that it started with her.
Its about how to face tragedy and not collapse.
I dont know if you have this expression in English, but she did it with a straight spine.
It means you were not broken.
Thats the thing: If Im not broken, it doesnt necessarily mean that Im tough.
Thats the thing about Eunice.
She was always very feminine.
Its a feminist tale, but she doesnt look like a feminist heroine.
And she has a lot of contradictions.
Like the fact that she never told the children what happened with their father.
On one hand, you understand it.
It was very difficult to explain to children from seven to 18.
Its something you cannot explain.
So, its not that shes a heroine, a woman without contradictions.
No, shes full of them.
Its a hell of a character to play.
Were you aware of all that as a child?
Were you aware of what was going on in the background?
I remember as a child, the fear that my parents had of the dictatorship.
Plays could be censored.
It was a huge musical, a huge production.
And it was cancelled, the day before the opening.
I was raised with all the costumes from the production in my grandmothers house.
There was a warehouse there with all the costumes fromCalabarthat were never used.
All this I found out later.
We moved a lot.
But my father stayed in Sao Paulo.
And he stayed there because his producing partner was arrested, just like Rubens Paiva.
So, he stayed in Sao Paulo, and my mother, in a way, escaped to Rio.
I remember, I spent a year without my father, without understanding what was going on.
I was younger than Marcelo.
I was five or six years old.
Later on, I remember the fear I had.
That was my adolescencewe were all afraid of the police.
And we are allstillafraid of the police in Brazil.
The police can be really tough.
I was raised with a fear of police.
One night, my mother and my father heard a gunshot in their room in Sao Paulo.
There were bomb threats.
They said it was an accident…
It was a strange time.
I grew up in a country that was totally closed to the world.
We had the feeling that we were condemned to Brazil.Condemned.
So, I remember it really vividly.
But it was also a time when theater, music, arteverything was really strong and interesting.
We didnt have so many parties [as the Paivas], but our house was just like that.
That was my childhood.
DEADLINE: Your mother also appears in the film.
Have you worked with her much before?
TORRES:Many times.
We did one soap opera.
We did an avant-garde theater play where I would eat her heart.
She would…. What do you call it when you take the head off?
She would behead me!
I didThe Seagull, Chekhovs play with her.
We spent two months in the northeast of Brazil in this amazing place.
Its a story that spans a hundred years, I think.
And recently we worked with [British director] Isaac Julien.
We did an installation calledA Marvelous Entanglementabout [Brazilian architect] Lina Bo Bardi.
We have worked together many, many times, and it always works out well.
DEADLINE: What is your memory of her being nominated forCentral Stationin 1999?
TORRES:I remember she was 70.
I remember her telling me, Nanda, Im 70 years old.
Its over, I think.
But then: Oscar!
And she hasnt stopped since.
Every year she says, Next year, I have to stop.
I cant work the way I have been working.
She just adapted a monologue about Simone de Beauvoir.
Its a very good adaptation.
DEADLINE: Obviously, the film is out in the world now.
You took it to Venice, and youve shown it to audiences around the world.
What has been the reaction internationally and how does that compare to the reaction at home in Brazil?
TORRES:Its pretty much alike, in the way it provokes a commotion in people.
And its not a sad kind of commotion.
There is nothing [shocking] in the movie.
You dont have pornographic scenes of torture.
You dont have a feeling of, Oh, how sad.
I cannot explain it.
Do you feel it?
You dont get sad, you gettouched.
There is hope in the movie, because those peopleendured.
Walter is opening the windows of that house again.
Selton told me, You know, strangely enough, this film is the body of Rubens Paiva.
Its the proof that hes alive.
DEADLINE: Has it had a big impact in Brazil?
Did people know the story?
TORRES:Peoplewantto know the story.
But, right or left, people were touched by the movie.
Because that family is adorable, and because they didnt deserve what happened to them.
People with all kinds of beliefs can agree that its a beautiful movie.
It created a cultural pride, because in Brazil sometimes we hate our own culture.
Not the music, but theater, cinema.
Its hated and its loved.
But this film created a love wave for cinema, I think.
DEADLINE: You mentioned music.
Do you thinkIm Still Herewill do anything for Brazilian rock band Os Mutantes?
TORRES:Os Mutantes doesnt need the movie!
I have four boys.
Two are my stepsons and I have two sons, so, thats four boys.
All of them listen to Os Mutantes.
Theyve never been more popular.
