Eunice, Clarice, Thereza

Joatan Vilela Berbel's first and only film "Eunice, Clarice, Thereza" follows three strong women whose husbands were killed during the Brazilian military regime in the 1970's, the circumstances around their disappearance and death, and some thoughts about finding the truth.

They are: Eunice Paiva, who was married with former congressman Rubens Paiva, and her story got a new momentum due to the acclaimed "Ainda Estou Aqui" ("I'm Still Here"); Clarice Herzog, widow of journalist/screenwriter Vladimir Herzog; and Thereza Fiel, widow of worker Manuel Fiel Filho.

All men were considered as Communist/subservise figures against the regime and their deaths prompted a mass reaction by society, most notably the former two cases when authorities claimed they killed themselves in jail after questioning - the staged photo of Herzog hanged in a strange manner sent a shockwave in Brazil and the hard years of repression were slowly fading away; Rubens's case was more complex as his body was never found and it'd take decades until the government and militaries admit he was a victim of the regime.

The documentary presents the women accounts on their husbands arrests, the shady circumstances of it all as it was still fresh on their minds (1971, 1975, 1976 cases, respectively). The part that hit me the most was Thereza Fiel's closing arguments about why the powers of be needed to kill their alleged enemies rather than exile them to a country that followed their ideals. I've seen a countless number of films about the topic and that exact thought of hers never crossed my mind. It made me rethink facts, scenarios and history in a shocking yet thoughtful manner.

The report might be a little hard on viewers who don't know much about the personalities involved, as there isn't much time to follow each case in detail. For that, you'll need to research news and books, watch other documentaries and films. But this is an important document that offers a unique and different perspective on the victims of the dictatorship, and the witnesses who struggled for years and decades to discover the truth about their loved ones. And that's an universal story. 8/10.