I'm Still Here (2024): parents' guide
Best for ages 14 and up. Rated PG-13 for thematic content, some strong language, drug use, smoking and brief nudity.
A powerful, grown-up historical drama best for older teens watching with a parent, based on the true story of a Brazilian mother whose husband is taken by the military dictatorship in 1971. Most of the cruelty is suggested rather than shown, but there are tense arrests, prisoners heard screaming, a brief glimpse of water torture and the family dog killed by a car. Expect two f-words, teens passing a joint while driving, constant smoking and a brief, nonsexual shower scene with partial nudity. The father's fate and the family's long grief make it heavy viewing, which is why we suggest 14.
What's in it
Violence
ModerateSoldiers seize the father at home; later the mother and a teen daughter are hooded and jailed. Prisoners scream behind doors, a man is dragged off begging, blood marks a floor, a young woman is glimpsed under water torture, and the family dog is found dead in the road.
Language
ModeratePlugged In counted two f-words and one s-word in the subtitles, plus single uses of ass, bitch and damn, and God's name used as an exclamation a couple of times. Common Sense also lists son of a bitch.
Sex and nudity
MildBack home after her detention, the mother stands in the shower a long time, and her breasts and buttocks are glimpsed from the side; the scene is about exhaustion and fear, not sex. Otherwise there are affectionate kisses, swimsuits and teen talk about boys.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
StrongIn one scene teens pass a marijuana joint around a car, the driver included, and hide it when police pull them over. Adults smoke cigarettes and cigars constantly and drink wine at parties, and a young teen tries her mother's cigarette.
Scary or intense scenes
ModerateThe night raid and months of not knowing whether the father is alive create steady dread, and the mother's days in a dark cell, hearing other prisoners cry out, are tense. The family's grief is long and heavy, and late scenes show dementia.
Sensitive topics
- Death of a parent
- Animal death
Worth talking about
The mother keeps her children's home cheerful while hiding how frightened she is. Why might she choose that, and what does the film suggest about holding a government accountable decades later?
On our lists
Similar picks around 14+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, osvnews.com, tv.apple.com, Wikipedia, bbfc.co.uk. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.