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Central Station

Play trailer Poster for Central Station 1998,  1h 50m,  Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 94% 50 Reviews Tomatometer 95% 10,000+ Ratings Popcornmeter
94% Tomatometer 50 Reviews 95% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Bitter former schoolteacher Dora (Fernanda Montenegro) supports herself by taking dictation from illiterate people in Rio de Janeiro who want to write letters to their families and then pocketing their money without ever mailing the envelopes. One day, Josue (Marília Pêra), the 9-year-old son of one of her clients, is left alone when his mother is killed in a bus accident. Reluctantly taking him in, Dora joins the boy on a road trip to find his long-missing father.
Central Station

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Director Salles transcends road-movie clichés and crafts a film that is as moving as it is universal.

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Critics Reviews

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Peter Bradshaw Guardian Aug 13, 2025
4/5
n ingenious, if glib, final twist gives the tale its solidity, though you can taste some processed sugar in the mix. Go to Full Review
Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times Feb 14, 2001
4.5/5
As beautiful as it is wrenching. Go to Full Review
Paul Tatara CNN.com Jan 1, 2000
It'll probably work better if you're not terribly familiar with the movies that inspired it. Go to Full Review
Aaron Homem PopMatters Jan 27, 2023
Central Station highlights the masses’ resilience while romanticizing their economic condition and environment. Go to Full Review
Phoebe Flowers Miami Herald Jan 5, 2023
3.5/4
A masterpiece of sincere emotion. Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Aug 9, 2010
B+
What separates and elevates Walter Salles' film above the familiar neo-realist type of melodrama is the stylized visual style and Fernanda Montengero's stunning performance. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Feb 23, 2019 O melhor filme nacional já feito. Quiçá um dos melhores do mundo.
George M Sep 25, 2018 Central do Brasil é o melhor filme brasileiro. Fernanda Montenegro É A nossa diva, a melhor atriz brasileira de todos os tempos. See more
Abraham R May 3, 2018 One of the best brazilian movie ever made.
Poe S Apr 9, 2018 Central Station definitely has a familiar story, but the execution is so great, grounded and subtle that the film still ended up being fantastic. Fernanda Montenegro shines here with such a powerhouse performance, the direction is also phenomenal as are the editing, cinematography and score. But the character development and interactions are so strong that I felt like I've just met Josue and Dora and thus that beautiful ending moved me even more. It's such a wonderful film and a major Brazilian classic. See more
Hagrid W Sep 6, 2017 "Central do Brasil" tells the story of a nine-year-old Brazilian boy in search of his delinquent father, along with an old spinster he meets at the train station where his mother was tragically killed. The spinster is embittered due to her past, the boy is very mouthy due to never having had a father figure in life: neither of both characters loses their quirks throughout the film, although gradually gaining sympathy for each other over time. The movie gives off a rather artistic vibe, a style to which the story lends itself more than to any other. Mind my words though: "artistic" and "phenomenal" aren't synonymous, as this movie contains a handful of flaws, most noticeably in its frame composition. Individually, the cinematography in each shot is appreciable (apart from the scene where the protagonist's mother is killed, which I found to be portrayed VERY amateurishly); sadly, there oftentimes is little cinematographic coherence between different camera angles or scenes, which really takes away from the overall experience. What's more, is that the final quarter of the film seems like it was directed by a wholly different person than the previous three were. I'd recommend watching this movie because of its story and the uniqueness thereof, albeit pretty appalling concerning cinematography at times. See more
Finn M May 1, 2017 One of my favorite movies of all time. A love song about Brasil while at the same time a statement about literacy, love and family. A spiritual journey for both the characters and the viewer. See more
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Central Station

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis Bitter former schoolteacher Dora (Fernanda Montenegro) supports herself by taking dictation from illiterate people in Rio de Janeiro who want to write letters to their families and then pocketing their money without ever mailing the envelopes. One day, Josue (Marília Pêra), the 9-year-old son of one of her clients, is left alone when his mother is killed in a bus accident. Reluctantly taking him in, Dora joins the boy on a road trip to find his long-missing father.
Director
Walter Salles
Producer
Walter Salles, Martine de Clermont-Tonnerre, Robert Redford, Arthur Cohn
Screenwriter
Walter Salles, Marcos Bernstein, João Emanuel Carneiro
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co
Europa Filmes, Buena Vista International, Canal+, VideoFilmes, MACT Productions, RioFilme
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Brazilian Portuguese
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 20, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 23, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$6.2M
Runtime
1h 50m
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