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In Walter Salles’s soberly narrated drama of survival, a family in 1970s Brazil is targeted by the military dictatorship and plunged into confusion. The upper-middle-class Paiva household is usually a happy place, full of children and friends who enjoy the nearby beach. But then mystery men take away the jovial father Rubens (Selton Mello) and station guards in the house, forcing his wife Eunice (Fernanda Torres) to keep the family calm. The director of DIARIOS DE MOTOCICLETA and CENTRAL DO BRASIL brings a sure, steady hand to the true story of future activist Eunica Paiva, taking the time to portray her family in loving detail, avoiding easy theatrics or shocks as he details the horror of their situation. As in so many stories of political persecution, Eunice and her family agonise over the unknown fate of Rubens; she too is exposed to the grim reality of the country’s prisons. With nuanced observations about class and gender roles, it’s a film where heroism becomes a matter of maintaining dignity and trust in a devastating scenario with no clear ending in sight. In a world of rising authoritarian tendencies, the Paivas’ story also feels less and less like a relic of the past. (Nicolas Rapold)

Walter Salles: A GRANDE ARTE (1991), TERRA ESTRANGEIRA (1995, KO-REGIE), CENTRAL DO BRASIL (1998), O PRIMEIRO DIA (1998, KO-REGIE), ABRIL DESPEDAÇADO (2001), DIARIOS DE MOTOCICLETA (2004), DARK WATER (2005) , LINHA DE PASSE (2008, KO-REGIE), ON THE ROAD (2012)