I'm Still Here Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

I'm Still Here Blu-ray Movie Review

Lost love.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III March 5, 2026

Nominated for Best Picture and Best Actress (Fernanda Torres) at last year's Oscars and winner of Best International Feature, Walter Salles' bracing 2024 drama I'm Still Here took quite awhile to reach home video here in America. This MOD (pressed) Blu-ray from Sony did indeed come out back in December, but several international releases including one by UK distributor Altitude Film Distribution beat it to market by as many as six months. Sony's Blu-ray is a very clean port of the film with similarly strong A/V merits and a few modest bonus features, making it a very safe bet for those who never got around to importing any of those earlier region-locked discs.

A moving and effective political drama opening in 1970s Brazil under a military dictatorship, I'm Still Here is adapted from the memoir of Marcelo Rubens Paiva, here portrayed by Guilherme Silveira as a child and Antonio Saboia as an adult. During the film's first act, Marcelo and his parents Eunice (Fernanda Torres) and Rubens (Selton Mello) and his four siblings enjoy a mostly idyllic and beachside family life in Rio de Janeiro. Reubens, a format congressman, secretly supports pro-democracy activists and soon becomes an outspoken critic of the brutal regime. This leads to a pivotal afternoon when Reubens is apprehended at their home and taken away for a deposition while several men stay behind at the Paiva home to supervise the remaining family members. Reubens never returns but the military denies any involvement and claims he fled, leading to a missing persons case that may never be resolved.

The focus of I'm Still Here naturally shifts to Eunice during and after these devlopments, and she's even arrested and psychologically tortured by the government for several days before being released. With no real information about her husband’s fate and unable to access his bank accounts, she's forced to rebuild her family’s life and moves to São Paulo in an attempt to find the truth about Reubens. Her valiant attempts continue for several decades, revealing a growing hole in her family as Eunice grows older and struggles with health issues without her husband by her side.

I'm Still Here won a variety of awards for very good reason, as the prescient story of its source novel (which will finally be translated into English for a release by UK publisher Charco Press later this year) has been resurrected at a crucial moment in world history. It's a deeply moving and well-acted film, sturdy in its construction and timeless due to both its strong sociopolitical themes and expert production design, both of which work in tandem to portray the 1970s and beyond in convincing fashion. For obvious reasons, this is the kind of film that deserves to be seen at least once even if you're normally scared of subtitles: I'm Still Here is indeed presented almost entirely in its native Portuguese but feels relatively easy to follow, even for first-time viewers who may not be familiar with the history it portrays. Simply put, it's worth the effort: those who watch this film won't likely forget it any time soon and, though I'm a bit reluctant to award it a full five stars right out of the gate, I'm Still Here is essentially a borderline perfect exercise in effective, sporadically intense dramatic filmmaking that may indeed get the courtesy bump as time goes by.

An alternate synopsis and appreciation of I'm Still Here was written by Neil Lumbard and can be found in his review of the above-linked UK Blu-ray edition from Altitude Film Distribution. Again, this new MOD (pressed) disc from Sony is a similarly strong effort with great A/V merits and similar but not identical bonus features.

I'm Still Here Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Due to its perceived similarities to the 1080p transfer on Altitude Film Distribution's Region B Blu-ray, please see Neil Lumbard's linked review of that disc for more details. Needless to say, this is a strong-looking disc that boasts excellent fine detail, good color representation, and features a very clean and well-rendered image that only struggles a bit with slightly chunky noise during its darkest moments. Although I've got no real hang-ups with this capable presentation, I'm Still Here -- which was shot on 35mm film as well as 8mm during some segments -- was reportedly delivered to theaters with a true 4K Digital Intermediate, so perhaps a UHD edition will materialize in the future?

I'm Still Here Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, the obvious strengths of this nicely rendered DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio presentation -- which is presented in either its original Portuguese or a Spanish dub -- mean that the review linked above explains its many merits. It's a great track; surprisingly robust and active at times, and one that I've got absolutely no complaints about.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are also included during the film with forced subs during the extras.

I'm Still Here Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed cover art and a few short extras.

• Pesonagens - Characters (3:51) - This extremely short piece includes key cast members (basically, everyone representing someone in the Paiva family) speaking in character about their place in the film. It's actually kind of strange in its construction and much too short for its own good, but I appreciate what they were going for.

• Atores - Actors (1:27) - This bite-sized piece whittles down the main cast interviews (who now speak as themselves) to just Fernanda Torres (Eunice), Valentina Herszage (Vera), Barbara Luz (Nala), and Selton Mello (Reubens); it similarly cuts off somewhat abruptly, as if it were taken from a longer featurette.

• Interviews (4 clips, 7:18 total) - Obviously taken from the same sessions above, these slightly longer interviews feature returning cast members Fernanda Torres, Luiza Kosovski (identified as her character Eliana, who she speaks about), Cora Mora (Maria), and Guilherme Silveira (Marcelo).

I'm Still Here Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Not to be confused with Casey Affleck's 2010 film starring Joaquin Phoenix, Walter Salles' bracing 2024 sociopolitical drama I'm Still Here is an internationally acclaimed picture with outstanding performances, strong production design, and a potentially deeply moving story. Though perhaps not something you'll rewatch countless times, it nonetheless feels like the kind of film that won't lose its power on subsequent viewings and will thus remain timeless (but hopefully not relevant) for years or even decades to come. Sony's MOD (pressed) Blu-ray, like several international released that arrive last year, doesn't offer a true 4K presentation but still shines with very strong A/V merits and a few short but mostly worthwhile bonus features. Firmly Recommended to fans and first-timers alike.