Central Station
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Movie Reviews of Central Station
Movie Review: Memorable and meaningful journey
Summary: 5 Stars
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
Movie Review: Humanity Triumphs
Summary: 5 Stars
"Central Station" is a Brazilian movie with a simple story line, but it has a tender, affirmative take that many moviegoers will embrace. A spinster, a crotchety middle-aged crone, a professional letter writer in the central railroad station in Rio, is visited by a mother and her son who see her in order to have her write and send a letter to the absent, perhaps shiftless father. (She has a touch of larceny; sometimes she doesn't mail the letters.)
When the mother gets killed in an automobile accident, the boy desperately needs the letter writer as a link to his father. An act of greed on her part sends them into each other's orbit. They begin a crosscountry odyssey looking for the father. Throughout the movie and on that journey we see how the lower end of the economic ladder live in Brazil.
It's a movie with compassion, a warm feeling, a feel-good movie. We see good people and acts of kindness. The spinster evolves, learns a great deal about herself as the story progresses and as she grows fond of the boy. The spinster is turned around by the persistent, insistent boy whose single-minded goal is finding his father. She almost finds romance with a good-hearted truck driver, but that proves elusive when he keeps on trucking.
You'll feel some tearjerking sentimentality, but the movie shows how the humanity of people can build bonds.
It's a movie with superb acting, a gentle touch, and insights into what makes us tick as human beings when faced by adversity.
Movie Review: My favourite film - beyond outstanding!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
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".
Movie Review: Tragedy, Friendship, Love...Brazilian Style
Summary: 5 Stars
Possibly the best foreign film to come out of Brazil since the days of "Pixote," and "Black Orpheus," "Central Station" is a heartbreaking account of a retired school teacher who befriends a recently-orphaned boy at Rio de Janiero's bus terminal. Fernanda Montenegro is fabulous as Dora, a single woman who lives her life for herself. Vincius de Oliveira, who plays Josue, is amazing in his first starring role. Personally, I feel that Montenegro was robbed of the Best Actress Oscar due to Gwyneth Paltrow's popularity that year, and it is a tragedy, for her performance is powerful. The film was also robbed of the Best Foreign Language Oscar due to Roberto Benigni's annoying antics and Miramax's powerful lobbying. The film which takes you from the beautiful Braganza-era buildings of Rio to the Brazilian hinterlands is like a dream. The vastness and beauty of Brazil and its' inhabitants are covered with sensitivity and grace by director Walter Salles. It was refreshing to see many of Brazil's sprawling developments, many which were created by the militry junta that ruled the country from the 1960's to 1980's due to lower density rates in major costal cities and to protect the country's borders from communist insurgents in the Guianas. If you need a good tearjerker in the tradition of the Color Purple, please see this masterpiece.Movie Review: Ignored by the Oscars .....
Summary: 5 Stars
Is more reason to see this movie. I use this criteria - if the Oscars reject a movie on the awards podium, or an actor (especially non-American) chances are the movie is a good bet for the serious movie watcher. So let's not get hung up why it did not win the Oscar - we have seen Cate Planchett, Judy Dench, Kristin Scott Thomas, Brenda Blethyn all passed over in recent years. You must remember for a non-American (especially in a non-English movie) to get a Oscar nomination is an achievement in itself. Frankly speaking, I was quite taken aback by the boldness of Fernanda Montenegro's nomination! However, the fact that she did not win surprised me not.If you have to use an (award) criteria to select movies, choose the Golden Globe awards as a more accurate pointer. The latter is yet to be held hostage by special interest groups and big cash ad blitzes by Hollywood movie studios.
Instead enjoy the movie for the fine performances, sweeping sceneries, and a dialogue that is sparse and confrontational but so tender and caring at the same time. Maybe a bit of a melodramatic finale, but overall a sublime movie.
I know we want to see work like this to be veted and recognised on the world stage. But the Oscars can hardly be crowned as the Holy Grail for recognition of achievement. Media may want us to believe that - but come on! Most of us know better.