Central do Brasil

Plot synopsis:
Dora is a retired schoolteacher who has become embittered. She works at Rio de Janeiro's Central Station, writing letters for illiterate customers, in order to make ends meet. She can be impatient with her customers and sometimes does not mail the letters that she writes, putting them in a drawer or even tearing them up. Josué is a poor 9-year-old boy who has never met his father, but hopes to do so. His mother sends letters to his father through Dora, saying that she hopes to reunite with him soon, but when she is killed in a bus accident just outside the train station, the boy is left homeless. Dora takes him in and traffics him to a corrupt couple, but she is made to feel guilty by her neighbor and friend Irene and later steals him back.
Dora is initially reluctant to be responsible for the boy, but ends up deciding to take a trip with him to Northeast Brazil in order to find his father's house and leave him there.
Dora tries to leave Josué on the bus, but he follows her, forgetting his backpack containing Dora's money. Penniless, they are picked up by a kind, Evangelical truck driver who abandons them when Dora encourages him to drink beer and then grows too friendly. Dora trades her watch for a ride to Bom Jesus do Norte. They find his father's address in Bom Jesus, but the current residents say that Jesus won a house in the lottery, and now lives in the new settlements, adding that he lost the house and money through drinking. With no money, Josué saves them from destitution by suggesting Dora write letters for the pilgrims who have arrived in Bom Jesus for a massive pilgrimage. This time she posts the letters.
They take the bus to the settlements, but when they locate the address they have for Josué's father, they are told by the new residents that he no longer lives there and has disappeared. Josué tells Dora that he will wait for him, but Dora invites him to live with her. She calls Irene in Rio and asks her to sell her refrigerator, sofa and television. She says that she will call when she gets settled somewhere. After she hangs up, she learns that there are no buses leaving until the next morning.
Isaías, one of Josué's half-brothers, is working on a roof next to the bus stop, and learns that they are looking for his father. After introducing himself, Dora says that she is a friend of his father and was in the area. Isaías insists that she and Josué, who, suspicious of the stranger, has introduced himself as Geraldo, come to dinner. They return to his house, where they meet Moisés, the other half-brother. Later, Isaías explains to Dora that their father married Ana, who he doesn't know is Josué's mother, after their mother died, and that nine years ago, while pregnant, Ana left her drunken lover for Rio and never returned. Isaías asks Dora to read a letter that his father wrote to Ana when he disappeared, six months ago, in case she returned. In the letter, the boys' father explains that he has gone to Rio to find Ana and the son he has never met. He promises to return, asks her to wait for him, and says they can all be together—himself, Ana, Isaías and Moisés. At this point Dora pauses, looks at Josué and says, "and Josué, whom I can't wait to meet." Isaías and Josué both say that he will return, but Moisés doesn't think so. The next morning, while the sons sleep, Dora sneaks out to catch the bus for Rio. She first leaves beside the letter from Jesus the one from Ana to Jesus, the one Dora carried with her from the Central Station but never mailed, expressing Ana's wish for the family to be reunited. Josué wakes up too late to prevent her departure. Dora writes a letter to Josué on the bus. Both are left with the photos they had taken by which to remember one another.

Tags: realism, bleak, dramatic, cute, romantic, sentimental

Review:
She is retired now, but in order to make ends meet, she sets a letter writing desk at Rio's train station where she writes letters dictated to her by the illiterate and eager people who can't do the job as they want to communicate with distant family and friends through Dona Dora.
Josue also realizes that Dora, in her own way, has been, for however short, the mother he lost in the tragic accident.Fernanda Montenegro, perhaps Brazil's best actress, is amazing as Dona Dora.
The interesting cinematography by Walter Carvalho, shows the immensity of Brazil's interior as the odd couple go to find the little boy's father.This film is a triumph for both Walter Salles and Fernanda Montenegro..
And the final destination for the boy (you're on the edge of your seat hoping things will turn out right) is not a happily-ever-after, but seems to indicate a new direction for the character.If I sound overly sentimental (I'm sure I do) it's because very few films have moved me like this one.
How was I to know that Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro who got robbed of an Oscar by Gwyneth Paltrow in the almost preternaturally ridiculous and superficial "Shakespeare In Love" gave a performance that is rarely imaginable at the movies?
'Central do Brasil' is basically a road movie about a boy Josué (Vinícius de Oliveira) who just lost his mother searching for his father.
She knows Josué because he and his mother used to write letters to Josué's father and when his mother dies she takes care of him, although she has other intentions at first.The movie is mainly about the relationship between the boy and the woman.
Each is so clearly delineated and so clearly defined that the film is a pleasure from beginning to end.Central Station actually beat "Life is Beautiful" at some of the world's top awards ceremonies for that year, and you can see why.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
At a certain point of the movie, Dora said "eu tenho saudade de tudo"(I miss everything).Whoever met and lost friends, had memorably happy moments in the past, or knew once the true meaning of love, can understand the unequal mixture of joy and sadness.Now I have a movie to recall to me those feelings,and I will watch again and again,to help me celebrate life!.
The main character, a jaded and bitter letter writer working in Brazil's largest train station (Fernanda Montenegro), is suddenly burdened with a kid who eventually wins her over.
The acting, the camera work, the soundtrack, and the beautifully written story all come together to produce just an amazing movie, well worth watching, that may just jerk a tear from your eye..
Brazilian director Walter Salles (of "Motorcycle Diaries" fame) has created a visually beautiful and emotionally heartwarming film.
Hearing the various stories and letters that the travelers dictate to Dora are touching and set the tone for the movie.
Walter Salles' gleamingly beautiful film CENTRAL STATION is one of those films that most people who appreciate the art of cinema will place in their personal library.
Not only is the story raw and touching but it is graced by the magnificence of actress Fernanda Montenegro who continues to be Brazil's finest actress both on stage and on film.
The story is a bit disturbing at first: Doña Dora is an elderly educated woman, with a history of turning to grifting for life support, sit in the Central Station and makes her money by writing letters dictated to her by the illiterate people who line up for her services - but Doña Dora often trashes the letters after collecting her fee.
Central Station is a special film for us, brazilians because we can see our real people on the screen.
Central Station is one of the most poignant films I have seen in a long time.There are two reasons I prefer to rent at the video store: being of typical English stock I loathe to show emotion in public, and second public theaters can't afford to play movies that don't pander to the lowest common denominator.
Once you get over your western prejudice of all that which isn't new and gleaming and begin to pay attention to the beauty of the indomitable human spirit your exuberance cascades back onto what you initially presumed to be the ugly decay of poverty.This film is great exactly because I can't express in words the manifold emotions expressed through the eyes of a mature woman and a brutally honest child caught up in a city of people just trying to cope.
Well after seeing Central Station , I saw that Brazil is full of life - just like India - same dense population , same cut-throat living competition , every day existence driving goodness out of even among good people.
while story , the plot of a con-woman ( not intrinsically) interwoven with an young boy made orphan by a sudden twist of fate is good to watch with great scenarios of Brazil - I really fell in love with the background location - I felt that the movie moved a little slow.
it is amazing the ability of director Water Salles to play at the heartstrings with such painful eloquence; fluid in a sense that the ubiquitous issues explored within the context of the film "Central Do Brazil" or "Central Station" were secondary to the road trip of two lives intersecting at a train station; a place where people come and go on their own subjective way.to be honest I couldn't tell if Walter Salles view on religion were pro or con; even after the continues repetition of religious symbols.
From spectator feelings of ambivalence to hatred, and coming full circle to being the hero of the story, we see acts of courage in Dora's transformation from the poster boy of everything ugly in Brazil, to the embodiment of true altruism.
She is the "clarity" in a convoluted Brazil - or humanity - who is left on its own without the so-called benefits and safety of civil society or an absolute dogma.in Central Station, we are like flocks of migrating birds together for safety from an indeterminate existence; in search of intangibles be it love, god, or an answer for mass suffering.
'Central Do Brasil' can easily be described as an extraordinary road movie, perhaps a prototype film of the genre.
Says movie director Walter Salles, "I come from a country and a continent whose identity is in the making, where things are not yet crystallized." And that's true for each of his personages; like their country, their characters are on the making, they are on the road.
The kid, Josué (played incredibly by Vinicius de Oliveira, a shoe shine boy found by Walter Salles on the street), can become a crock, like old Dora (the great Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro).
Dora a retired teacher works in a train station concourse where she writes letters for illiterates and usually does not post them even though she has been paid for this service.Josue is a young boy who has been orphaned since his mother was hit by a bus.
Central Station is a heart warming and heart breaking film that's among the best Brazil has to offer, especially in its leading lady.8/10.
Central Station is a heart warming film with a lot of depth that isn't evident the first time you watch it.
The shot is linked to the next scene that takes place on ground level of the station, that being a pouring out of emotions that happens when several people partake in dictating letters to a woman they've never met but entrust to write down what they've said before mailing them off to the chosen address' of loved ones.
Just in the opening, director Walter Salles foretells the spilling out of emotion the characters will go through in this film whilst, some might argue, bringing to attention the illiteracy problem that he believes plagues his native Brazil.
The opening also goes a long way in establishing the protagonist of the film, a certain Dora (Montenegro), and how she is 'before' the film develops her.Central Station is, essentially, a road movie but it is one of the better road movies that I have ever seen.
But what makes Central Station so memorable is the gradual changes Dora undergoes in order to become a better person and this is accomplished through the time she spends with a very young boy named Josué (de Oliveira).So the film is a character study, made in a language that is not of the English variety and stretches out to a little bit under two hours.
She figures he is helpless and may need to steal to live, similarly to what the prior, now dead, youth had to do also.The centre of the film revolves around Dora delivering Josué to his father, an address that she acquired a few days earlier when the boy's own mother dictated a letter to her.
Perhaps the father is a better person for at least he, as pointed out by the boy, could mould wood and earn a living out of a skill.While thoroughly engaging and always interesting as interactions and situations are played out, Central Station takes time to develop exchanges and studies like all great, slow-burning character studies do.
It's about Dora (Fernanda Montenegro), an old woman who fooled simple minded and illiterate people from Northeast writing letters for them, keeping the money and not delivering the mail.
Montenegro is our Prima Donna, doing her work superb as usual - if (argh!) Roberto Begnini won an Oscar, she would deserve 10; the boy was very realistic, even if his acting wasn't brilliant by that time - he did it fine, though; Marília Pera, one of my favorites, was gold-shining as that neighbor who helps Dora on escaping from the criminals - she has a real perfect comedy timing that beats even professional comedians; pay attention on Matheus Nachtergaele, playing one of Josué's brothers and the always efficient and ready-for-the-action Otávio Augusto, as a corrupted police detective.I recommend this movie for all non-Brazilians so you can learn about the real thing.
This movie requires either: a very open minded audience; or an audience that understands the brazilian way of life.For example: there were comments about the biblical names of the characters.
This are the preconceived ideas that makes us brazilians mad.Some comments also mention the brazilian society and culture, which, believe me, is portraited VERY realistically by the film, and shows Brazil just the way it is: poor, religious, sometimes cruel, but most of the times compassionate and benevolent.
This is what makes Brazil such a unique country, according to sociology, and the BEST country, in my opinion: although it sometimes is difficult to survive in Brazil, every one can sense the friendliness, always-ready-to-help initiative, and companionship off the brazilian people.The poor life condition of the majority of the brazilians makes them cruel, and sometimes dishonest, but their kind hearted approach to life makes the story of the movie true and realistic to any person that knows how brazilians REALLY are.Believe the film, it's a real portrait!
The "jeitinho" is often done in a good way, although the movie gives a mean (but true) example of it.Also don't consider the comment of a Brazilian Artemis, from Belo Horizonte, in this forum, who is ashamed of the real Brazil, and wants to make people believe that Brazil is such a developed country.
This person is either very ignorant or very stupid, because the Brazil she describes is only true for a minority of the brazilian people: the ones that live in big Cities, like São Paulo and Rio, and that have MONEY.Brazil is a great country, the best, but it's far from developed.
Central do Brasil is a Movie filmed by the heart of an authentic South-American person.
You just have to watch the minute or so before the titles appear to know that you're in for a treat: a real picture with real people.First it's a story about a woman, Dora, and a nine year old Josue, who is looking for his father.
So, if you want to enjoy a touching and realistic film which will probably have you in tears, give it a try and take a couple hours to watch this masterpiece of the Brazilian movie industry..
Dora (Fernanda Montenegro) is a petty deceitful selfish old woman who writes letters for illiterate people at the central station in Rio de Janeiro.
It follows a "less is more" philosophy, which means that the simplest things can be good.This Brazilian piece of cinema is almost a road movie, although it does a good job in two different things: taking us to the streets of Brazil and to places outside of the town.
provided they like it, of course.This motion-picture tells the story of Dora (a grumpy and apathic middle-aged/old woman), an ex-school teacher who writes letters for illiterate costumers as a job and Josué, a poor boy who just lost his mother tragically and son of a father he never met.
The film tells the story of two characters, Dora, a retired schoolteacher who writes letters for the illiterate public in the train station, and Josué, a young boy in search of his estranged father.
Likewise, I believe the relationship that develops between Dora and Josué to be just as beautiful, portraying two people who want nothing to do with one another, yet, who need each other in order to discover the truths of life's journey.
'Central Station' is one of the best Brazilian films ever made.
Bernstein, by the way, is an excellent director himself, which debut film, "Do Outro Lado da Rua", brings back to the movies the fabulous Fernanda Montenegro, the first Brazilian actress nominated for an Oscar ("Central do Brasil"/"Central Station" in 1999)..
Central Station is a intimist film that in its dense and full atmosphere of the most human feelings involves us, of the beginning to the end, and in which many of us identify with Dora and Joshua.
This quiet little film, with it's sincere, poetic magic, tells the heartbreaking story of its main characters with a glimpse of hope at the end, suggesting a better tomorrow.The main characters are a 60-ish woman, Dora, and a suddenly orphaned 9-year old boy, Jesuel.
`Central Station' is a beautiful movie made with sensibility and a touching feeling of love, courage and adventure.
Not to be missed!Fernanda Montenegro, one of the best Brazilian TV and theatre actress (who got the Academy nomination for this role  plays a woman who writes letters in the name of illiterate people.
Everyone in Brazil is talking about the race between "Central Station" and "Life is beautiful" for this year's Foreign Language Film Oscar.
An utterly beautiful film with two wonderful performances by Miss Montenegro and the young boy!.
I love the way the movie depicts characters as being both good and bad and I think the bus trip scenes are just perfect.
The movie shows how hard can be the life for billions of people all around the world and that we try not to see, even in poor countries such as Brasil..
I know these places and these kind of people the movie is about, and Walter Salles, developed the story without importing foreign cinematographic languages.
You learn about changing, about soul and about love in every meanings.For who doesn't know, the little boy on the movie, Vinicius de Oliveira was a poor child, who used to work shining others shoes until the day he met Walter Salles Jr. who took him to the movies tests.And for the ones who doesn't know too, Fernanda Montenegro is our best actress.