And while it’s never consciously framed as such, there’s something of a child’s eye view to cinematographer Adrian Teijido’s sun-dappled images of familial bliss – of kids fussing over the stray terrier they find skittering across the beach, or stuffing their faces with ice cream at a local parlour.
The world around her character, Eunice Paiva, mother of five and wife of former congressman Rubens, has collapsed into an ugly chorus of helicopter blades, army trucks, and stomping boots.
While it’s formally an adaptation of the memoir Ainda Estou Aqui, written by Eunice’s son, Marcelo, Salles himself was childhood friends with the younger Paivas and a frequent guest in their home.
These are all real people and real events, intimately captured by director Walter Salles in his first narrative feature since his 2012 adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.
Editor Affonso Gonçalves frequently cuts in sequences shot by eldest child Vera (Valentina Herszage) on her handheld Super 8 camera, which becomes an important means of communication when she’s sent off to London for her own safety.
