This powerful Oscar-nominated drama is about the real-life kidnapping and murder of a former congressman in 1971, during Brazil's military dictatorship, said Kevin Maher in The Times. Up for best picture, best actress and best international film, it's made by the Brazilian director Walter Salles, who got to know the subject's family as a boy.
This isn't "another South American dictatorship drama", however; instead, it is one of the great films about motherhood, because once the politician has been snatched from the family home in Rio de Janeiro, the focus turns to his wife, Eunice Paiva (the "phenomenal" Fernanda Torres), and what follows as she searches for justice and closure over the next 40 years. "Best actress Oscar for Torres? Worth a flutter."
Torres gives a performance of great "subtlety and dignity" as a woman having to shield her five children from despair, said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian. But her character is so self-controlled – she doesn't cry once – that the film feels "numbed and sometimes even strangely placid". Still, "this might well be precisely the experiences of the families of the 'disappeared', their emotional responses stunted and amputated by the state".
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
For me, the standout moment of this "superb" film comes when the family relocates to São Paulo, and one of the couple's daughters sits on the doorstep of the house they're about to leave, said Wendy Ide in The Observer. Her face "a mask of grief", she leans "towards the now empty rooms as though drawn by the magnetic pull of happier times". It was in this moment, we later learn, that she "'buried' her father, realising then that he wasn't coming home". I have watched the film three times, and "this achingly sad single shot has broken me every time".
-
China: Xi seeks to fill America’s voidFeature Trump’s tariffs are pushing nations eastward as Xi Jinping focuses on strengthening ties with global leaders
-
Rebrands: Bringing back the War DepartmentFeature Trump revives the Department of Defense’s former name
-
Supreme Court: Will it allow Trump’s tariffs?Feature Justices fast-track Trump’s appeal to see if his sweeping tariffs are unconstitutional
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful northThe Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashionIn the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fansThe Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painterThe Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Born With Teeth: ‘mischievously provocative’ play starring Ncuti GatwaThe Week Recommends ‘Sprightly’ production from Liz Duffy Adams imagines the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
-
Art review: Lorna Simpson: Source NotesFeature Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, through Nov. 2
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is moreFeature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
