Central Station (1998)

In the opening scenes of Central Station, colorful crowds of Brazilians stream into and out of a Rio de Janeiro train, pushing through doors and windows. You're immediately pulled into the brutal vitality of a nation in motion, setting the tone for a picturesque road movie that charts Brazil's renaissance in a little boy's search for his father and an old woman's emotional reawakening. When we first meet Dora (Fernanda Montenegro), this frozen-hearted, sour-faced woman is the epitome of immobility: day after day, she sits in the train station selling her letter-writing skills to all comers, but often doesn't bother to mail these precious messages. When a woman who's paid Dora to write a pleading note to her son's long-missing dad gets run over by a bus, the child, Josue (Vinicius de Oliveira), is up for grabs. (The summary execution of a thieving street kid--in longshot--underscores the seriousness of this waif's plight.) After an abortive attempt to sell Josue for a new TV, the aspiring couch potato finds herself reluctantly propelled into an occasionally Fellini-esque odyssey through the hinterlands of Brazil's sertäo, where Dora and her sidekick find unexpected faith and family. Former documentary filmmaker Walter Salles (Foreign Land) mixes magic with realism in his appreciation of striking faces and places, but Central Station is primarily fueled by the tough/tender performances of Montenegro, Brazil's Judy Dench, and de Oliveira, an airport shoeshine boy Salles cast over 1,500 other hopefuls. (Montenegro was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, and Central Station was in the running for Best Foreign Language Film.) No cloyingly cute child-star, de Oliveira plays Josue as a bracingly idiosyncratic brat. And watching Dora's face and soul slowly, unwillingly unclench as she gets back in motion--and emotion--is potent pleasure, even if Salles's trip does dead-end in soap opera as his Brazilian pilgrim's progress winds down. --Kathleen Murphy Amazon.com

Finding lost souls...

Young Brazilian boy (Josue) yearns to meet his father who left his Mother shortly after he was born. Josue and his illiterate Mother visit a letter writer (Dora) at a Rio train station to compose a letter to his Father in an attempt to reach out to him. Shortly after leaving the letter writer, a horrible accident leaves Josue homeless. Josue, a suspicious, crafty, sharp-tongued young boy finds his way back to Dora - and then through an unusual set of events (which we won't disclose here) - they depart on a journey to find his father.

Dora, played by Fernanda Montnegro, is magnificent in this film. She is a cynical, sad, middle aged former school teacher who you dislike early on in the film - to someone you begin to acquire compassion for - to a heartfelt ending where you can't help but feel admiration and warmth.

The story opens in Rio de Janeiro where you see spectacular pictures of the crowded trains, train stations, tenement housing - and then moves into the Brazilian countryside where the film-maker captures the desolation, the hardships and the simplicity of life. The film is wrapped in beautiful fitting piano music. Beautiful, moving film...
April 20, 2008

Central Station

Central Station is an amazing movie! The two main characters are easy to love and to hate. If you have good taste in movies you'll love it! April 13, 2008

My favourite film - beyond outstanding!!!

I saw this film at the Astor in Melbourne a number of years ago - a grand art deco art-house theatre with a big screen and fantastic choctops. I entered the theatre with no expectations and exited having been blown away.

It is so not a Hollywood film - there is no lead male role (aside from Josue), there is no simple happy ending, and Fernando Montenegra allows herself as Dora to be thoroughly unattractive.

In the film, we see the seething mass of humanity of Rio, the cheapness of life, the uncompromising harshness of the environment.

But what sets this film apart is the performances. Fernando Montenegra is extraordinary as Dora - at times nasty, but through a flicker of an eye, a quiver of a lip, and clutch of her hands she drags you in, you compell yourself to invest your heart in her, willing her to win her battles with herself, knowing that any victories are likely to be small, and short-lived. She should have got the oscar she was nominated for.

This is not to detract from Josue - to be honest, child actors normally make me cringe - but Josue's chemistry with Dora is fantastic - the spruiking scene at the pilgrim site is a classic.

So when it plays at the Astor every couple of years I always drag along a group and love seeing their faces - a mate of mine summed it up when he said "seeing Central Station, you realise how long it is since you've seen a truly great film". July 11, 2007

Memorable and meaningful journey

Central Station is a wonderful and emotional film. An aging teacher, Dora, now works in the bustling Central Station of Brazil. She writes letters for those who can't and for those who just wish to connect with someone, regardless of the message. She takes down a message from a young boy Joshue, and his mother; the mother wishes to send a letter to locate the boy's father.

There is an accident outside the Central Station, and Joshue's mother is killed. And now, without compassion or concern for the orphaned Joshue, she takes him in and trades him for a TV to unscrupulous adoptive agency that kills the children and sells their organs. Dora's friend, thankfully with scruples, intervens and demands that the boy be retrieved from that adoptive agency. Together, they undertake a long journey on the bus to find his father.

It may be somewhat predictible that a friendship occurs between an old lady and a young boy, but the movie focuses on the lines inbetween that friendship. Fernanda Montenegro portrays Dora beautifully, caught between her world of coldness and the intimacy of friendship. It takes a while to get there, and we see her and the boy transform.

The DVD has audio commentary by Director Walter Salles and actress Fernanda. The talk of how many of the real scenes were used, real actors or real workers in the Central Station. The heat was over 100 degrees, 3 cranes were used for filming, etc., etc. Subtitles are clear, cinematography is great, etc....MzRizz
July 5, 2007

lovely

People have been recommending that I see this movie for years, but somehow I didn't get around to it until this week. What a lovely film. I enjoyed it very much, particularly the performances of the two leads, Fernanda Montenegro and Vinicius de Oliveira.

I'm wondering, has anyone else been struck by the similarities between this film and John Cassavetes' "Gloria" starring Gena Rowlands? Both films are about women, definitely not the motherly kind, being thrown into a custodial relationship with a young boy under difficult and extreme circumstances. Although the films have many differences and ambitions, one is a road trip movie and the other is a mob movie, that key relationship between the boy and his reluctant protector develops in a very similar way. Both boys even engage in some similar prepubescent sexual braggadocio.

Both films are recommended, but beware, there was an unfortunate remake of "Gloria" with Sharon Stone which should be avoided. March 22, 2007

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