Central Station (1998)

Like Gena Rowlands in this country (who ironically did a similar film, 1996's "Unhook the Stars"), Brazil's Fernanda Montenegro is a masterful actress who inhabits her characters wholly with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of personal depth. In this beautifully filmed 1998 film directed by Walter Salles, she offers a superbly realistic portrayal of an aging, embittered spinster named Dora, who earns money by writing letters for illiterate passers-by at Rio de Janeiro's Central Station. At the outset, she is a petty thief who takes the letters and decides with her friend Irene which ones to post if at all. Her dull world changes when Josué, the nine year-old son of a woman for whom Dora has written a letter, suddenly becomes orphaned when the woman is killed by a speeding bus. The letter was to be sent to Josué's father to reunite the family. Now his plight gradually becomes Dora's concern, and over the course of the film, her destiny.

What Salles does with great dexterity is show the gradual closeness between Dora and Josué without resorting to any obvious sentimental plot devices, as neither is particularly sympathetic at the beginning and use their surly, obstinate personalities as protective shells. Even though this story has an overly familiar structure, Salles and screenwriters João Emanuel Carneiro and Marcos Bernstein bring a heavy dose of neo-realism within the unfamiliar, non-tourist locales used. It's all reminiscent of Vittorio de Sica's and Roberto Rosellini's classic post-WWII work in Italy like "The Bicycle Thief" and "Open City". With his later film, 2004's wonderful "The Motorcycle Diaries" and now slated to film Jack Keroauc's seminal "On the Road", Salles is obviously becoming known as a master of the road movie, and it is easy to see why with this work. Helping considerably is the stunning cinematography of Walter Carvalho, who presents vividly inhabited tableaux with each new phase of the journey from the bustle of inner-city Rio to the open roads to the religious pilgrimage to the new shoebox-style settlement.

But it is Montenegro who dominates the proceedings as she gradually develops a character who earns our sympathy economically and honestly as she makes every moment count. For example, as she senses herself becoming attracted to Cesar, the religious truck driver, she applies a stranger's lipstick with a quivering hesitation that is almost as heartbreaking as the realization she faces moments later that he has left for good. A real shoeshine boy picked by Salles, Vinícius de Oliveira plays Josué with equal economy and responds to Dora's actions with realism that alternates between touching and frustrating. Smaller roles are filled expertly with Marília Pêra amusingly ebullient as Irene and Othon Bastos compellingly conflicted as Cesar. The climax comes a bit out of left field with the introduction of new characters that provide some amount of closure to Josué's fate and wrap up many of the open plot threads, but the somewhat pat turn does not undermine the genuine strength of the film.

The DVD provides a nice extra with Montenegro, Salles, and producer Arthur Cohn contributing invaluable audio commentary in English. Salles and Cohn talk about the sources of inspiration for the movie as well as the more technical aspects including the rigors of location shooting with masses of amateur actors and a minimum of art direction and constructed sets. Montenegro speaks less, but like

Fmovies: Great movie, warm and bittersweet. It somehow reminded me of

My Life as a Dog (1985) because it more or less deals with the

same issues, but we move from the Swedish North to the sunny

Brazilian South. Beautiful colors, great acting--Josue and Dora

make a wonderful pair and they really foil each other out. Almost

starts dragging a little before the end, but it picks up again. I highly

recommend.

I was surprised when I first saw Central do Brasil. First, because, living in Brasil, I have had the chance to see the rise and fall of our movie production. Suddenly, a powerful cinematographic milestone comes as a delightful surprise to movie lovers down here. A few things must be said: it's pretty obvious that Central do Brasil is too much of a real and daring movie for the Academy. It's almost a relief that it didn't get any Oscars, but was praised all over the world, winning more than 50 ( !!!) prizes in Europe, Asia and Americas. For those who find it boring, it's time to reavaluate your concepts on what good cinema is. Stop seeing The Patriots and Independence Days that infect America's so-called Industry, and try to research a little bit more on sense and sensibility!!

Central Station fmovies. I thought this movie was terrific, a little slow in parts, but I cared about the characters and was interested in their journey. I also liked the fact that the main character was not portrayed as a saint - Dora is a real person, flaws and all. Montenegro was robbed at the Oscars and so was the movie.

In reality, there are a finite amount of interesting story lines to tell. What makes one movie telling the same storyline more worthwhile to see is a combination of creative expression, in depth character development, superb acting, exquisite photography, and believability, or the ability to persuade the moviegoer to suspend disbelief.

How many times have we been exposed to a retelling of Shirley Temple's Heidi, where a young non-related child falls into the life of an old curmudgeon, and teaches that curmudgeon to enjoy life and/or develop morals and values? Too many times for me, so I was reluctant to see this film. It would have been a shame had I not.

There are many creative twists and turns along the way to keep the suspense level up in this film. The photography in Rio is OK, but once out in the Brazilian countryside, it is fantastic. At the end of the film, there is little doubt but that the way this story turns out is how it would have had to turn out. The character development of Josue is a little weak, but that of Dora is superb. And you will see a lot of films before you will see an acting performance like Fernanda Montenegro's as Dora again.

This movie thankfully is not overly sentimental, that would get in the way of the story, it is just a great film to watch and enjoy. 9 of 10.

This movie is special.It shows the real Brasil with a simple but beautiful and touching story about a little boy looking for the father he never knew and a woman looking for a second chance. The performers are brilliant! Fernanda Montenegro is extraordinary in the role of Dora.The chemistry between the main characters (Dora and Josué) is splendid. The film photography is wonderful, so as the instrumental soundtrack. Central do Brasil(Central Station) is one of the best movies I have ever seen.

Be ready to weep and be happy!