PHOTO © SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

In the jarring drama “I’m Still Here,” director Walter Salles deftly demonstrates that uncertainty can be more devastating than loss.

Many films about political violence unflinchingly depict torture, murder and devastation. Often, this approach is justified; at times, it can feel exploitative. But few on-screen atrocities are as chilling as the simple absence is in “I’m Still Here,” as the loss of a dissident is portrayed through the anguish of his family.

It’s a true story, set in 1970s Brazil, when the politician Rubens Paiva — played here by Selton Mello — was arrested by the country’s military dictatorship. We see Paiva for the first act of the film, but his activism is shown around corners and takes second billing to his home life; he makes an ominous late-night phone call, then goes to play foosball with one of his five children.

The story, however, belongs to Eunice Palva (Fernanda Torres), who is arrested and imprisoned for weeks herself, only to be freed without explanation. The depiction of her ordeal (during which her eldest daughter is also detained) gives Eunice, and the audience, enough context and chilling detail to fear what is happening to Rubens.

It is that fear that Eunice must live with — a gnawing, constant dread that increases day by day. Is her husband’s torment ongoing? Already over? Will he ever return — and if he does, in what condition?

The film is carried by Torres, who portrays this unimaginable burden with a mix of steely resolve and constant threadbare tension. The actress beautifully holds both these challenges in her gaze and tense muscles at all times, maintaining a degree of calm and dignity for the sake of her children (and, it must be said, to avoid further detention) while never denying the horror of her circumstances.

While the script does not quite match the power of the performances, “I’m Still Here” is a scathing indictment of totalitarianism and clandestine exercises of power — and a reminder that these things occur not in distant dystopias but in seemingly ordinary places to normal people. While many of us are well aware that the wolves may already be at the door, “I’m Still Here” is a call to vigilance.

My Rating: 8/10

“I’m Still Here” is now playing in select Pittsburgh theaters.