Aarcflick

 There’s a scene early in Walter Salle’s I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui in Portuguese) that prepares you for the kind of movie you’re about to see. Teenager Veroca (Valentina Herszage), the eldest daughter of the Paira family, is riding in the car with her boyfriend and friends. The passengers pass around a joint as rock music blares from the radio and the wind blows through the windows.  It’s Rio in 1970, the sun is shining, and for a moment, it’s a picture of blissful, ignorant adolescence. Then, within seconds, the mood of the film changes completely. In a tunnel, a police roadblock stops the car and aggressive officers order the minors out and check their IDs. They treat the boys and girls with hostile brutality, and though the encounter only lasts a few minutes, it shakes each of them to their core. This is the reality of the world in I’m Still Here; pure joy can be corrupted and crushed in the blink of an eye. Director: Walter Salles Writers: Murilo Hauser, Heitor Lore...