‘I’m Still Here’ Returns Walter Salles to His ‘Motorcycle Diaries’ and ‘Central Station’ Sweet Spot

Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles has been wrestling with languages his whole life. He grew up in Rio de Janeiro and Paris and studied at USC, becoming fluent in his native Portuguese and French plus English. When he followed up his Oscar-nominated and Golden Bear-winning “Central Station” (1998) with “The Motorcycle Diaries” (2004), he became fluent in Spanish.

“I couldn’t possibly do ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ without having an in-depth understanding of Spanish,” said Salles on Zoom, “because directing actors has so much to do with precision, with the capacity to find that one word that can trigger something fresh and new. Whenever you have to rationally extend yourself, create a sentence, as opposed to that specific word that untaps something, you miss an opportunity.”