Stars: Fernanda Montenegro, Marilia Pera, Vincius De Oliveira

Director: Walter Salles

Summary: Dora is a lonely older woman whose life seems to have no point. Things change, however, when she befriends a homeless orphan, Josue, and she slowly rediscovers her heart. Portuguese dialogue.

Fernanda Montenegro's affecting performance, nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, is the centerpiece in this acclaimed Brazilian film. In the bustling heart of Rio de Janeiro, a young boy, Josue (Vinicius De Olivera), witnesses the accidental death of his mother. When a lonely letterwriter (Montenegro) reluctantly agrees to care for the boy, they begin a journey across the countryside on which they learn valuable lessons about each other and the human spirit.

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In the opening scenes of Central Station, colourful 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--seen 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 Stationis primarily fuelled by the tough/tender performances of Montenegro, Brazil's Judi 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 Stationwas 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' trip does dead-end in soap opera as his Brazilian pilgrim's progress winds down. --Kathleen Murphy, Amazon.com

Aspect Ratio:	2.35 Wide Screen
Main Language:	Portuguese
Region:	Region 2
Year:	1998
Release Date:	April 1, 2004
Runtime:	106 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	B E D 888494
Keywords:	Subtitled, General, Wide, Screen, Station, Central, Drama, Portuguese, Elevation, Brasil
Genre:	Drama